Quint Wizard Tournament
by Cmartin-Panda Productions
Summary: (A triple crossover between DBZ, Naruto and Harry Potter) The stage is set, the Goblet of Fire is placed, but with two new schools in addition to two traditional wizzarding schools attending the tournament, how will Hogwarts Champions, as well as Harry and his friends, fair in this once in a lifetime event? Rated T, strong language may be present.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note from Panda: Happy 2018 to all our old fans and new fans that will join us. Panda here, co-author to Cmartin. A quick apology for all the fans of our more popular series. Yes, this is a new story when we have so many others we need to update. What can I say? Life has gotten in the way. And its not just that we are going through a rough patch, its that we need to learn to make time to write and edit while we are going through the rough patch that is adult life. Highschool authors and adults who have their shit together, I envy you. We thank you for your patience and want to reassure everyone that we have not dropped any of our stories. The thing is, we need a little pick me up, and releasing this story seemed like just the right thing to put a pep back in our fanfiction writing step. For our old fans, you may recognize this as the triple crossover we have been hinting at for years. The Naruto/Harry Potter/DBZ fanfic. We couldn't have gotten this done without the help of our beta reader bradw316. Say hi Brad.**

 **We thank you for reading and we hope you enjoy this story. So without further ado, here is the Quintwizard Tournament.**

* * *

Chapter 1 – The Goblet of Fire (or The Magical Schools of Kame and Konoha)

* * *

"Welcome students to another year at Hogwarts!" Dumbledore announced to the hall of Hogwarts students. "This year is a special one as we have been selected for a legendary event; the Tri-Wizard Tournament. However, this year we have two new participants in the tournament, making it the first ever Quint-Wizard Tournament."

Harry looked at his best friends Ron and Hermione. So this is what Ron's family was teasing them all about all summer.

"Without further ado, I present you the first of the new comers to this legendary event. From Japan, deep within the Land of Fire, The Hidden Leaf Advanced Ninja Academy!"

The doors of the great hall burst open as dozens of young teens leapt across the dining tables. At least, Harry thought they were teens. They all moved so quickly, even his Seeker trained eyes could barely keep up with them. They leapt off of plates and student's cups with such grace you would think these newcomers were made of air. They did flips and acrobatics, running along and up the walls (some just standing there, their feet sticking to the walls!). It was clear that they were showing off their magic. Fireballs were going off like fireworks, one young man expanded like Harry's Aunt Marge. A swarm of fireflies danced around the candles hanging overhead. And Harry might have been drinking too much pumpkin juice, but he's pretty sure he saw a horse sized dog turn into a duplicate of a wild looking guy in a leather jacket and continued to do impossible gymnastics.

"How are they doing that?" Ron asked in surprise and bewilderment.

"It's unlike any magic I've ever seen..." Hermione commented.

"It's ninjutsu." A bored voice explained.

The trio whipped around to see the mystery person. He was a tall man, scrawny build like a scarecrow, with spiky silver hair and a mask covering all but his right eye. He looked preoccupied reading his orange book with foreign text on the cover. Hermione thought it was an Asian Spell book, small enough to fit in your pocket.

The man sighed and promptly closed his book. Then, he clasped his hands together in a quick succession of hand signs, making sure to slow his movement down enough to give the foreign magic users a demonstration. Everyone near Harry's seat and on the table opposite him were mesmerized by the foreign wizard's demonstration. Hermione in particular was eating it up to learn about a brand-new form of magic. Magic without the use of a wand!

Suddenly, the scarecrow man's right hand burst to life with electricity. Harry could see the man was holding a concentrated bolt of lightning in his hand.

"Bloody Hell, that's awesome!" Ron declared.

The masked man smiled through his eye. Oh how he missed seeing his cute little students act in awe of his jutsus. A little indulgence was so nice every now and again. The man raised up his hard and the bolt of lightning shot upwards, filled the grand dining room with a deafening sound of thunder. Which succeeded in getting the young ninjas to settle down. Like a well-disciplined platoon of soldiers, they fell in line in the center walkway of the dining hall in time for their headmistress's arrival.

An ink bird which had been flying overhead quickly burst apart, splattering the far end of the Ravenclaw's table with ink. Much to the dismay of those unlucky students.

Harry saw the fireflies and beetles that had been buzzing overhead all swamp back to a single one of the foreign students.

"Did he just absorb all those bugs into his body?" Neville asked.

"Gross..." Lavender whispered just before Professor McGonagall called for silence.

Just then, in walked THE most buxom woman Harry had ever seen. She was of average height with long blonde pigtails wearing a light green jacket and grey pants. And her chest... Harry hadn't seen a rack that big since he blew up his aunt. Not that this woman walking past him was in anyway fat, she was gorgeous, and looked no older than 30. But the amount of cleavage she was showing off was unheard of in the halls of Hogwarts.

Ron and several other guys couldn't help but bulge their eyes out, till Hermione slapped the back of his head.

"Don't stare!" She hissed.

"Sorry sorry, it's just... they don't build'em like that back home." Ron said as he got an eye full of the other girls they had brought along. Harry full heartedly agreed, while there were only five, not counting the foreign headmistress and her assistant, they were all athletically toned in all the right places as the entire school could plainly see. One even had pink hair and another had eyes that Harry bet could pierce into his soul all the way across the hall, she looked really nervous though. Which Harry could completely sympathize with, as he was often the center of attention and never liked it any more than she seemed to.

"They make'em just fine back home, thank you very much." Hermione replied, bringing Harry back to the table he was sitting at.

"Lady Tsunade. It's a pleasure to meet you." Dumbledore greeted the large breasted woman as she approached the front of the room

"The pleasure is all mine, Professor Dumbledore. It isn't often that I get an excuse to get out of my school for a few months and avoid all that ungodly paperwork." Tsunade replied, to which Dumbledore chuckled.

"Ah yes, I completely understand. I'm almost disappointed that the Ministry hadn't chosen some other school to host the tournament and spared me from another year's worth of paperwork." Dumbledore joked.

"Ahem." McGonagall coughed, hoping to get them both back on track. They had three more schools to introduce.

"Oh right. You may take your seat among my staff at the table behind me. Your students can take the bleachers to the right." Dumbledore said.

Tsunade nodded and motioned her students to take their seats.

They obeyed, although not in the way any of the young wizards were expecting. While some ninjas did opt to sit on the bleachers normally, a handful of the guys decided to show off by leaping up to the walls and stuck to them like their feet were suction cups, then they just sat on their heels.

"Next we have a school unlike any other. From the tropics in the land of Dragons, Kame House Martial Arts Academy, and their headmaster, Roshi!"

The doors opened again, this time 8 students appeared from what seemed like nothing. One by one, each student took to the air and did several forms of aerial acrobatics. Two students combined a few attacks to create shockwaves in the air as the others shot yellow balls of energy that circled the room before ascending upwards and exploding like fireworks.

"Merlin's beard!" Someone cried. "They're flying without broomsticks!"

All 8 students floated in the air in an octagonal pattern with their hands cupped to their sides.

"KA... ME... HA... ME... HAAAA!" They all shouted as 8 blue beams erupted from their outstretched hands and combined in the center, creating a large blue sphere.

The sphere grew to a large size until the taller one of the students pulled his beam away and then released a golden beam into the blue sphere. The sphere detonated and erupted like a million fireworks above all of the slack jawed spectators. A thunderous applause was heard, even from the Ninja's as the 8 students descended to the front of the crowd, and bowed respectfully as their teachers walked in. One was a short old man with a brown wooden walking stick, the other a tall man clad in orange like the rest of the students with black spiky hair that stayed a step behind the elderly man.

"Ah, Roshi my old friend. How have you been?" Dumbledore greeted.

"Training these students. They sure don't make them like they used to." Roshi stated. "Allow me to introduce my assistant and my top student, Goku Son."

"That's his top student?" Harry whispered to his friends. "He looks way too old to be a student."

"They did say martial art school. It's not a traditional education." Hermione replied. "Maybe the students can stay on longer than us regular students." The witch-in-training explained.

"You couldn't be more right, young lady." Roshi said as Hermione's eyes went as wide as dinner plates. "Goku here has been my student for almost 40 years. Yet, there is still always something new for him to learn." Roshi explained.

"H-how did you-"

"Hear you? Heheh, young lady, if you could live as long as I have, you'd pick up a few tricks here and there." Roshi chuckled. Hermione turned red at being singled out. Suddenly all eyes were on her.

Across the room, Malfoy was snickering to himself. "Class hasn't even started and the she's already playing the teacher's pet."

Harry and Ron shot death glares at Malfoy's comment, but it went largely ignored by Roshi.

"I dare ask if you will be allowing Goku here to participate in the tournament. It would be quite unfair to the rest of the younger participants." Professor Dumbledore inquired.

"Oh you don't have to worry about me, sir. I'm just an assistant to Master Roshi on this trip. I'm still bummed I won't be in the tournament. But it would be unfair to all the other schools." Goku said.

From the seat next to Dumbledore, Lady Tsunade scoffed. "I wouldn't count my young ninjas out quite just yet, even if you did enter the tournament. I've got my own apprentice here for the running and I'm confident she could give you a run for your money, Son Goku." Tsunade smirked. To which Goku gave a friendly smile back.

"Is that so? Well then it should be an interesting tournament no matter who gets picked. Not for nothing, but I'm also pretty confident in my own son, should he be picked." Goku bragged.

The halls erupted in even more whispers. Amongst the wizards and even a few of the ninjas. Who was this guy? And more importantly, who was his son?

Harry zeroed in on a spiky haired youth around his age. While not having nearly as messy of a hairstyle as Goku, the kid's onyx black hair and face all were too similar to the Goku character that there was no mistaking it. Whoever that kid in the middle was, he was the son of Goku and from the way the head masters were talking, would be a tough opponent to beat.

Once the Kame House students were settled in next to the Hidden Leaf, the delegates from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang made their own entrances. Which fell short in grandeur after seeing the two other schools with their wandless magic.

After the other two headmasters made their greetings, everyone settled down to listen to Dumbledore's grand unveiling of the tournament to come.

"As I was saying earlier. The Quint-Wizard Cup is a legendary event that has been hosted in over a generation. Usually it would only be held between 3 schools, hence the Triwizard part. In order to branch out to the farther eastern lands, our Ministry of Magic has invited the two most famous magic schools in all of Asia. In order to bring together these schools, their headmasters and a selection of their students will be spending the year here at Hogwarts. I trust that each and every one of you will extend every courtesy to our foreign guests while they are with us, and will give your whole-hearted support to the Hogwarts champion when he or she is selected." Dumbledore announced, enticing even more excited chatter from his students who already were bursting at the seam with questions.

"But enough of that. You all want me to make the grand unveiling don't you?" Dumbledore teased, sensing the mood of the audience. With a single wave of his wand, the veil had covered the object in front of the staff's table had been pulled back, revealing a stone goblet with blue flames.

"This…is the Goblet of Fire. The judge that will decide which student from each school may compete in the Quint-Wizard Tournament. Any student who wishes to participate need only write their name and school on a piece of parchment, sorry, scroll…" He corrected himself for the more eastern participants, most of whom made an "Ah" face. "And toss it into the Goblet. Be warned, when the Goblet has selected you, there is no turning back. You must compete in all three of the challenges spread out throughout the year." One of the female students from the Turtle school, the one with raven black hair and two pigtails, raised her eyebrow, curious as to how something like that would be enforced. She then figured magic, and repaid attention.

"Given the nature and great danger involved in these challenges, only those who are above the age of 16 may enter." This was met with a chorus of boos from the Hogwarts students, 90% of whom were disqualified from competing out of the blue.

"THAT'S RUBISH! THAT'S RUBISH, YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING!" Harry heard Fred and George yell, only to be met with a booming, "SILENCE!" from Dumbledore who was having none of it.

"These steps are in place to ensure the participants safety and ensure that only the most experienced young wizards may attempt the trials. I would like to remind you all, this tournament is NOT for the faint of heart…"

Harry looked around to see many of the students ignoring Dumbledore's warning and instead were picturing themselves as the school champion.

"Do not make this decision lightly, once a champion has been selected, there is no turning back. On that note, the final selection will be made in one week's time. I encourage everyone over 16 to mull over your decision very carefully before submitting your name. Until then, it is late, and I know how important it is to you all to be awake and alert for your first lessons tomorrow. Bedtime! Chop chop!"

With that, Harry and the rest of the Gryffindors stood up to leave for their dormitories. As they made their way to the exit they saw the ninjas all run up the walls and exited through the openings near the ceiling from where the owls came in every morning. Likewise, the Kame House kids all flew up to exit out the same way as the ninjas. It was as if the Asian wizards didn't believe in using doors. _'Weird.'_

At their dormitories, Harry and Ron and all the other guys in their room were up half the night talking about the Quint-Wizard tournament and what it would be like if they had a chance to enter. Harry went to sleep that night dreaming about holding up the Quint-Wizard cup victoriously.

* * *

A week later, at the edge of Hogwarts's field, inside the wooden Japanese style mansion the ninjas had built for their stay, a young ninja with blond spiky hair and whisker birth marks sat outside awake.

All week long, Naruto went to bed looking up at one thing, that castle. In all his years he had never seen anything like it. It looked so mysterious, so...looming. it was crazy to think he had been inside such a monstrosity, let alone was expected to live next to it for an entire school year.

Aside from having to share a room with the 8 other guys from his class, he was happy. This was going to be the longest he had ever been outside the village and all Naruto could think was good riddance.

He never liked growing up in the Leaf. For reasons beyond his control he was always ostracized there. When he was twelve he learned the reason why. A demon sealed inside him by the 4th Headmaster of his school. When he was a just a baby no less. The villagers surrounding the academy thought him to actually be the demon reincarnated. The nicest thing Naruto could say about it is that it led to a lonely childhood.

It wasn't all bad though, he had a couple of friends here with him, not that many were left back at home mind you. But most importantly, he had Sakura-chan. She was his first friend and Sage help him that was all he needed.

 _'Sakura-chan.'_ He thought giddily.

Refocusing his attention on the looming castle above, he couldn't help but wonder if he could make any friends here at Hogwarts.

 _'Nah.'_ He thought. _'I'm barely gonna see any of those guys outside of this tournament thingy. They'll probably be more interested in that Teme Sasuke anyway.'_

Story of Naruto's life, it didn't matter how good he was, because Sasuke "Duckbutt" Uchiha was bestowed upon this world solely to be better than him. No matter what he did, Sasuke was always one step ahead.

He made Genin before Naruto, he mastered the Chidori long before Naruto did with the Rasengan, and no doubt he would be selected to represent their ninja school in the tournament by divine intervention. So fuck it, Naruto thought. Like Neji always blathered on about, he was pre-designed to be the dead last so he might as well embrace it and have some fun cheering on Sasuke and hanging out with Sakura.

Naruto couldn't help but think back to his first night here at Hogwarts when everything had taken a turn for the worst, as it always did…

* * *

One week ago, deep inside the Forbidden Forest, the ninjas had set up camp for the night. Kakashi had assured them that Yamato was on his way with their long term living quarters and would be here in the morning.

The young ninjas and the Hokage were fine with the settings though. They were used to sleeping outdoors in tents.

In truth this was the closest the self-titled Konoha 16 had ever come to a group vacation. Life in the Leaf village gave them very few chances at down time. When they weren't in class or just out training in the fields they were called away on missions. Such was the fate of Genin in their village. Gone were the days of 12-year-olds leaving their basic education behind. Instead those hoping to become ninjas could expect to spend their first 18 years as both students and genin. What made the Konoha 16 special though, is each and every one of them had achieved the rank of chunin by the time they were 16, Naruto being the last. This was unheard of in the history of the Leaf Academy that so many undergraduates would qualify for the rank of Chunin, and nearly all of them came from the same age group. It was clear to everyone, even the civilians, that this was a special breed.

Despite his reputation, Naruto was grateful to be counted amongst all the young shinobi surrounding him. His whole life he had been called dead last and for the most part, those days were over. The jerks and the bullies from his boyhood had been swept aside by Naruto's new found fame at being counted amongst the best his generation had to offer.

After drawing straws, Naruto was selected as the third watch for the night. A seemingly pointless practice since they were technically on a friendly visit to another school, but for ninjas, old habits die hard.

Naruto and Sakura had decided to stay up until Naruto's shift began. Sakura spent most of the time talking about the brand new world they were in. How they were half a world away from their home and yet everything seemed so different. Naruto was content to just listen to her. She might berate him for running his mouth from time to time, but she was no different. You get Sakura Haruno talking about a subject she is interested in and she will just go on and on.

Eventually Naruto managed to shift the conversation over to them talking about what they would do if they were chosen to represent their school. Then they started listing off the pros and cons of having the other kids be the school Champion.

"I'm telling you, if Shikamaru was chosen he'd forfeit before the first challenge was even done. 'It's too troublesome,' he'd say." Naruto debated.

"Oh come on. Sure he's lazy, but he's the smartest guy in our class. He'd still be fierce competition until he would forfeit." Sakura debated back.

"Fine, fine, but you know who would be a serious competitor the whole way through? Rock Lee."

"Yeah, no duh, he'd be motivated by 'MY UNDYING FLAMES OF YOUTH'." Sakura said in her best Rock Lee interpretation, getting a chuckle out of her male blond friend. "Still, do you think he even qualifies? This is a magic competition and he can't even use jutsu."

"I say let him, it would be worth it to see all those wizards get beaten by a… what do they call them? Muddles?"

"Yeah, probably…" Sakura giggled. Soon Kiba came by to get Naruto to relive him. Sakura wanted to stay up with Naruto until his shift ended, but he insisted that she needed her rest. She had the 6th shift. After some teasing for Kiba on the two of them acting like an old married couple (which Sakura firmly denied) Naruto went off to the edge of the campsite to begin his shift.

' _Shadow Clone Jutsu!'_ His fingers in his trademark cross sign, and two more Naruto's poofed into existence. The original sent them off to guard around the campsite in a 3-point formation. The clones were solid and could think for themselves, but they were vulnerable to the slightest damage. Worst case scenario, they would be destroyed and Naruto would know immediately, making them the perfect sentries.

The Whiskered Blond kicked up his feet and got ready for a long boring hour of nothing when the Duck Butt brigade decided that they had other plans.

To Naruto's credit, he sensed them coming before the three of them leapt down in front of him all dramatic like.

"Hey Loser, come with us." The white haired boy made of water spat at him.

"Good evening to you too, Asshole." Naruto spat back. The Hell did Sasuke want now?

"What'd you say?" Suigetsu said to him, he bared his shark like teeth at Naruto while enlarging his right arm using his water based transformation powers. "Cause I could have sworn you said, 'Oh please beat the shit out of me, Suigetsu-san.'"

"Oh would you put away that macho man crap?" The red head with glasses and an under-zipped shirt sighed, so sick of Suigetsu's shit.

"Heeehhh? You want some too, Skank?"

Wanting to nip his two companion's argument in the bud, the 7-foot-tall gentle giant with orange hair intervened. "Stop it Suigetsu, you too Karin." They both scoffed. The giant then turned to Naruto and spoke in a calm tone.

"Sasuke has requested your presence, will you please come?"

Now it was Naruto's turn to scoff, not that he had much of a choice in the matter.

"Wow, sending all three of you, I must be special. Does Sasuke have you three fetch his slippers every morning too?" To that end, Suigetsu sucker punched Naruto in the gut while his attention was focused on Juugo, whom was known to snap with the change in the wind. Naruto doubled over and it became clear they were done pretending to ask nicely. Naruto made a third clone and instructed it to stay here so no one would be any the wiser. Then the real Naruto followed behind the Duck Butt Brigade.

Five minutes later, which for a ninja was easily five miles deeper into the woods, the group came across the last Uchiha himself taking a rare break from training. All around him were slash marks and massive craters no doubt made by Sasuke's infamous Chidori. Taught to him by none other than Kakashi-sensei himself. Naruto couldn't help but notice the one female of their group looking starry eyed. A typical reaction at seeing the Village Heartthrob shirtless and out of breath.

"Dobe…" Sasuke spoke, not even bothering to look in Naruto's direction or to acknowledge his subordinates' presence.

"Teme…" Naruto replied, still clinging to his pride, only for him to be backhanded upside the head by Karin for speaking ill of her beloved Sasuke-kun.

"I don't suppose you know why I asked you to come here?"

"Let me guess? You wanna confess your love to me because damn the world? Well I'm sorry Teme, I know you must love it up the ass, but I don't swing that way. Might wanna give Suigetsu here a chance though. He's used to sticking large things into guys." Naruto joked. He had been saving that one since his last encounter with Sasuke when a failed prank backfired on him.

Karin and Suigetsu looked like they were gonna blow a fuse while Juugo was admiring some owls flying off in the nighttime sky above. Sasuke being Sasuke however, kept his cool.

"Hilarious, this coming from a virgin…" The trio of underlings burst out in a fit of chuckles, giggles, and laughs like a good pack of trained dogs. Naruto was fuming, that was below the belt.

"What do you want, Teme?" He said, trying to get to the point.

Sasuke put on his long sleeved shirt, much to Karin's dismay. "I want what everybody here wants, Dobe. The Hidden Leaf to win this stupid tournament thing. And unlike you, I'm sure, I have a plan to do it."

"Oh yeah? And pray tell what is that?"

"Simple, I'm going to be chosen as the Champion." Sasuke said.

"You're gonna be chosen as the Champion? Genius, why didn't I think of that?" Naruto replied sarcastically.

"Because you're an idiot." Sasuke replied, ignoring Naruto's attempts at wit. "But don't worry about that. You are actually going to help me with my plan. By submitting my name into the Goblet of Fire in place of your own…"

"And why, pray tell, would I do that?" _'This outa be good.'_

"Do you honestly expect me to just stand around here for six months and watch someone else represent the strength of our academy? No. My time would be better spent back at the Leaf being trained by Orochimaru."

' _Orochimaru…'_ Naruto thought with venom. The head of scientific research at the Hidden Leaf Village and the right hand to the Hokage. He was one of the three Sannin, or Legendary Ninjas of the Leaf Village. The same as Granny Tsunade, only Orochimaru absolutely gave Naruto the creeps. After Naruto and the rest had become genin, Orochimaru had taken an immediate interest in Sasuke. Many thought it was natural, the prodigy of the old generation taking an interest in the Uchiha prodigy of the new generation. There were rumors, of course, that the Snake Sannin had only taken Sasuke on as his apprentice because of Sasuke's Sharingan, him being the last remaining Uchiha. Naruto always wondered if Sasuke himself suspected those rumors, or he was just too full of himself to care.

"-The only reason I came here in the first place was to test myself against the strongest opponents these schools had to offer. Anything less than that is a waste of my time." Sasuke continued. "Besides, how would our school look if you were to be chosen as its champion?" Sasuke spat, touching a nerve on Naruto.

"You, who just barely made genin, and just barely, who remains constantly the dead last of our entire class." He listed off, each point cutting deeper and deeper into the Uzumaki. "I won't have my title as a ninja tarnished by being represented by you, so why don't you do the entire class a favor and submit a name worthy of the title 'Champion.'"

And just like that, Naruto went silent. He had always known that Sasuke was an arrogant bastard, hell everyone who didn't fawn over him knew that, but this was a new low. There was only one thing Naruto could say in a situation like this.

"Fuck. You." The blond turned around to leave with only his middle finger to trail behind him when he was stopped by Sasuke's three goons. Karin, who had been watching the entire time saw an opportunity to score points with her precious Sasuke-kun.

"Where do you think you're going, Baka? How dare you reject Sasuke-kun's offer? This is a kindness, you wouldn't want to embarrass yourself in front of 'Sakura-chan,' would you?" The evil red head smirked. Naruto went wide eyed with fear. She knew she had him.

"Oh yes, we all know about your precious 'Sakura-chan.' But wait… she's not yours, now is she? At least not how you'd like her to be?" She sang. Naruto felt his blood boil feeling somewhat betrayed. Now Karin was a bitch, there was no one to dispute that, probably hated him just as much as the rest of the village but to go that far…

"You wouldn't…"

"Wouldn't I?" She said in a sickly sweet tone.

"No way." Suigetsu chuckled, finally catching on. "He actually has a crush on that flat chested bitch?" He laughed.

"Shut up!" Naruto growled, the whisker marks on his cheeks becoming darker, something that went unnoticed by Suigetsu and Juugo under the pale moon light.

"Oh man, that is priceless." The shark toothed swordsman laughed. "Hey Sasuke, isn't Sakura one of those fangirls of yours?!"

"She once was, I believe." Juugo commented.

"Oh man, what if we had our boy Sasuke ask her out?" Suigetsu suggested, he couldn't see it, but Naruto's eyes turned into slits like an animal's.

Karin and Sasuke looked displeased at this idea. Karin, because the thought of Sasuke being with anyone else even for pretend filled her with dread, besides she only pursued this line to get a rise out her cousin. And Sasuke because the thought of having to waste his time dating annoyed him.

Naruto was fuming at this point, one more word, just one more word…

"Or maybe… I could have my way with her?" Suigetsu smirked. "Give that ass a ride you don't have the balls to give her-" Naruto lunged forward to attack Suigetsu, putting everything he had into his right punch to hurt the white haired bastard as much as possible. However he unconsciously held back doing so caused the punch to come off too telegraphed and Suigetsu had managed to bring his hand up just in time to block Naruto's fist. It was too powerful though, the force behind Naruto's blow was enough to make Suigetsu's hand exploded into liquid.

Juugo meanwhile, took the opportunity to transform his left arm into its curse state, turning it large and purple like a demon's hand. His swung his grotesque fist straight through Suigetsu's torso to line up a perfect shot at Naruto, knocking him back several meters flat on his back. The blond skidded to a halt right in front of Sasuke who planted his sword right next to Naruto's exposed neck.

"Pathetic." He said. Naruto could only grit his teeth to avoid shouted at Sasuke and waking up the entire country.

"Karin, go wake Sakura up and tell her whatever you like." Sasuke called out to his red headed admirer, smirking internally.

"NO WAIT!" Naruto cried out, desperate to stop them from revealing his secret. Karin stopped just hear what her alleged cousin had to say. Juugo and Sasuke were also waiting patiently for the blond's answer. Suigetsu was too busy reforming his body to care.

Naruto looked up at the night sky. His thoughts turned to Sakura. All the happy times he could remember with her. The pranks he had gotten her to help him with. The times she saved him a seat during lunch. The times she helped him with assignments he didn't have a clue on. The times she had stood up for him. And all the times she had scolded him because she cared when no one else did. She was his best friend, his first friend. How could he not fall in love with her? And how could he even think of risking his friendship with her?

"Fine… damn it, fine… I'll do it… Just don't tell Sakura…please…" He whispered loud enough for Sasuke to hear him.

Satisfied, the Uchiha sheathed his sword before walking away without a word.

' _Coward.'_ Naruto thought to himself.

The rest of the Uchiha gang stood up to head back to camp. Leaving Naruto alone to stare up at the night sky and ponder his thoughts.

Later that night, Shikamaru found him out in the woods and escorted him back to camp so that the Nara heir could start his own shift.

* * *

That was a week ago, and all anyone had talked about since then was the tournament. Sakura especially seemed excited for a chance to prove herself. For once, Naruto couldn't share her enthusiasm. Sasuke's words just kept eating at him like an Akimichi at a buffet.

Tonight was going to be that fateful night. Tsunade had talked to them earlier in the evening that if any of them had gotten cold feet, now would be the last chance to opt out of submitting their names. For everyone else, they would line up single file after the feast and submit their names one at a time in front of the entire Hogwarts school. They were told it was to prevent cheating among the students if every school made a big show of it. Although Naruto noticed that no other school had to submit to this regulation. Naruto knew persecution when he saw it, he had been the victim of it more than enough times back home, but it seems to the rest of the world, ninjas were a sneaky, dishonorable, bunch of tricksters. It infuriated Naruto, but none of his peers seemed to notice or care, so he let it slide.

After a scrumptious feast of roasted pork and European delicacies, the ninjas all lined up as they were instructed with their slips of paper in hand.

Unsurprisingly, no one had decided to back out. Even Shikamaru, whom everyone had silently bet would forfeit out of sheer, mind-numbing laziness. It made what Naruto had to do all the more difficult.

As he stood up, he was eyed by Sasuke and his merry band of assholes. The sneers they were throwing Naruto's way would put a lesser ninja over the edge. But despite what everyone in the village assumed, Naruto was not some weak genin. He was a ninja, damn it, as good as any other- except…

Sasuke's words still cut deep into the blond. Who was he kidding? Even with that weird training he got from that perverted hermit in secret, he was nowhere near any one of his classmate's level. He might have been in the top tier of rookies, but he was still the bottom of the barrel.

Frustrated, Naruto clutched his blank slip of paper.

"Naruto, what's wrong?" A voice behind him asked. He turned around and there was Sakura, with a look of concern on her face reserved only for him.

"Nothing, Sakura-chan. Just nervous is all." He lied with his best fake smile.

Sensing his discomfort, Sakura decided to buy it for now. She turned her attention back to Ino, whom she was already having a discussion with.

Naruto looked ahead and noticed that Sasuke was staring at him intently, his Sharingan activated. He was spying to make sure that Naruto kept his end of the bargain.

Figuring it was now or never, Naruto pulled out a tiny ink brush gifted to him by his teammate Sai. He had told Naruto when he first laid eyes on the little brush it had reminded Sai of him. Never mind that now though, Naruto took the ink brush and began scribbling a name down on his strip of paper.

S-A…

Sasuke, feeling satisfied with the Dobe turned his gaze away and focused on observing his opponents, any one of whom could be in the room with them at that very moment. While he looked away, Naruto finished scribbling down a name in his rather sloppy handwriting.

…K-U-R-A…H-A-R-U-N-O.

He folded the paper quickly without anyone else noticing. The Sharingan might be able to pick up the most minute details, but it couldn't read what it couldn't see.

One by one the students dropped their strips of paper into the Goblet of Fire, finally it was Naruto's turn. Making certain not to open his note incase Sasuke stopped being his usual trusting self, Naruto plopped it into the fire and retreated back to the table where him and all his classmates were sitting; a mischievous grin on his face. The kind, Sakura noticed, he only had on when one of his infamous pranks was in motion.

"Narutoooo, what did you do?" She growled. Normally she enjoyed his pranks when they weren't directed at her or her undeserving friends, but if Naruto was going to mess up this prestigious event between all these foreign schools she would give him such a scolding later.

"Nothing, Sakura-chan, nothing at all." He replied nervously with a slight sense of delight.

"You're sure? You're not thinking of pulling any pranks right? Cause I swear to the Rabbit Goddess, Naruto-

"I promise its nothing you would object too. I promise." He held up his right arm to make an oath.

"Promise?" She was still unconvinced.

"May my lips never touch ramen again." He swore. Sakura was instantly convinced.

With that out of the way, the Headmaster of Hogwarts, Dumbledore, took the podium as the flames turned from a light blue flame into a deep purple. He took out his wand and gave a great sweeping wave with it; at once, all the candles were extinguished, plunging them into a state of semidarkness. All eyes were focused on the only source of light left in the room, the Goblet of Fire.

In a flash, it turned bright red and sparks flew out of it. Then a tongue of flame burst out of the goblet and a charred piece of paper fluttered out of it.

Dumbledore snatched the piece of parchment out of the air and held it at arm's length, so that he could read it by the light of the fire, which had turned back to a white blue.

"The champion from Durmstrang," he read, in a strong, clear voice. "will be Viktor Krum."

A storm of applause and cheers swept the hall. Naruto saw who he assumed was Viktor Krum stand up. Even from across the rows of tables, Naruto could see that Viktor was thin, dark, and sallow-skinned, with a large curved nose and thick black eyebrows. He was nowhere near Bushy Brow's level though, but that was mostly because he reminded Naruto of an overgrown bird of prey. He slouched over to where Dumbledore was standing; he turned right, walked along the staff table, and disappeared through the door into the next chamber.

Over all the cheering, Naruto could still hear Viktor's Headmaster shouting his approval the loudest. Apparently, Krum was his favorite.

' _The Sasuke of Durmstrang.'_ Naruto guessed.

The applause died down as the goblet turned a dark purple again. And once again, it turned red and spewed out another name for Dumbledore to read aloud.

"The champion for Beauxbatons," said Dumbledore, "is Fleur Delacour!"

Once again the halls were filled with applause. Naruto saw what he could only describe as a beautiful girl. She was thin, average height, with silvery blonde hair caressing down her backside. She reminded Naruto a lot of Sakura's friend Ino. Both of them strikingly gorgeous with long blonde hair and both look liked they bathed in the attention of others.

"The champion for Hogwarts," Dumbledore began again, Naruto had been so enamored with that Beauxbaton chick's beauty that he hadn't even noticed she had long since left and another champion was being chosen, "is Cedric Diggory!"

The halls then exploded with cheer, mostly coming from the table with all the kids in yellow. Of course, this was the home team player, of course he would get the most applause. From what Naruto could tell, he looked like an extremely handsome boy. _'Probably another Sasuke.'_ Naruto thought, judging by the way all the girls from his table were swooning over him. Even a few girls from the other house tables were batting their eyelashes at him. _'Definitely another Sasuke.'_

As Cedric left the great hall, another name came out of the goblet. It was down to either of the two Asian schools now.

"The champion for Kame," Dumbledore said, "is Videl Satan!"

Not to be outdone by all the other schools, the Martial Arts Academy students burst out into a roar of applause. "Yeah Videl!" One of them shouted above all others, but Naruto didn't get a good look at him.

Videl stood up with pride and walked confidently towards Dumbledore and then through the door. She was a little taller than Sakura with her same firecracker attitude. You could tell just by the way she walked. Her hair was short, black, and relatively unkempt, like she only fussed with it when she needed too. _'A real tomboy.'_ Naruto figured.

Finally, it was the Hidden Leaf's turn. The moment of truth….

For a brief moment, Naruto couldn't help but ponder what if? If he did have the balls to put his own name into the goblet and was he was selected as his school's champion, what could have happened.

He imagined his whole class cheering him on as he overcame each of the tasks with ease. Sakura-chan watching him every step of the way. Slowly realizing her feelings for him as she falls in love with him.

' _Yeah right, while I'm dreaming, I'd like a sea of ramen, a chance to meet my parents, and to not have a demon sealed inside me that ostracizes me from the rest of the village.'_

"The champion for the Hidden Leaf, is Naruto Uzumaki!" Dumbledore shouted as the hall roared with applause for a final time.

' _Wait, what?'_

* * *

 **Author's Note from Panda: Bam! Betcha didn't see that coming. Videl is the Kame school champion and not Gohan. Any other questions you have, PM us and we will be happy to answer. We love talking with you guys, honest.**

 **The next five chapters should be released on a weekly basis, since they are done, we promise, we just want to spread the releases out. At least I do. Cmartin, you got any words for the fine folks at home?**

 **Cmartin: Yes, in fact I do. To reiterate what Panda said at the beginning, life is getting quite hectic. Between work and lack of sleep, plus with my grandfather on his death bed, I'm having a hard time trying to focus on writing. My main concern is getting bills paid and keeping my clunker of a car running. I'm hoping for a decent tax refund this year so I can get a newer and better car to replace mine, but I'm not going to hold my breath. As it is, we're behind bills and I have no idea when or if we'll be able to pay them. But don't worry. I'll try to make time to write, but I'll do what I can when I can.**

 **Again, I apologize for the extremely long wait for new chapters to our old stories. I promise you they will be updated. Chapter 40 of Legacy Of Heroes is nearly complete. The next chapter of Five Year Mission will be next, Slug and Fox will be next, followed by Zelda. I'm afraid Transfer Students may be abandoned. I can't find it in myself to think up anything new content wise. I'm more focused on what we've currently got working.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note from Panda: What do you mean we the autocorrect says that wizard is spelled with two z's? That's stupid. Oh whatever. Happy MLK Day to all our American readers. Enjoy.**

* * *

Chapter 2 – The Six Champions

"Naruto Uzumaki!" Dumbledore called out again, hoping he got the name right.

"Naruto. You were chosen. Get up there." Sakura hissed.

Naruto looked back at Sakura in disbelief. All his classmates looked at him with a mix of disbelief and envy. Sasuke just looked at Naruto like he would a dog that didn't use the backyard. Naruto turned away and quickly sat up. Thankfully the applause from the other schools was still ongoing, Naruto headed to the front of the hall without making a fool of himself.

"Make your way through that door over there, Mr. Uzumaki." Dumbledore ordered as he motioned to the door in question.

Naruto did just as he instructed. He was so nervous he couldn't even appreciate the unique European castle interior. The whole place felt like one long dungeon compared to the colorful paper and wood interiors from back home. He opened another door and in there he found Cedric, Videl, Fleur and Krum all standing around the trophy room's fireplace. The burning logs giving off a soothing crackle.

"So you're the last champion?" Videl asked.

"Huh? Oh...yeah, I don't know how. I never even put my name in the goblet." Naruto answered, getting out of his daze of shock.

"And yet you were chosen?" Cedric asked.

"Zat is very odd..." Fleur stated.

"You must have a really good friend who believes in you." Cedric said.

"I don't know..." Naruto paused when he realized the one person who could have done this. "Sakura-chan...it must've been her...but why?"

"Sakura-chan? Is that your girlfriend?" Videl asked.

"No... but I wish she was..." Naruto said sadly.

"Oh my God, zat is adorable." Fleur exclaimed, much to Naruto's embarrassment.

"Unrequited feelings I assume." Videl guessed, Naruto nodding softly.

"Oh dear..." Fleur gasped.

"That's rough...I know what it's like." Cedric said.

"Not me and I don't care. The last thing I need to worry about is love." Videl stated coldly.

Naruto was about to snap back until they heard the door open behind him.

It was that Hogwarts kid that Naruto had seen at the opening feast. The kid with the cool lightning shaped scar and the glasses. He looked rather nervous. Was he here to fetch them or something?

"Harry?" Cedric asked. "What are you doing here?"

"I-I... was chosen." Harry said nervously.

"What?! But that's not possible!" Videl exclaimed.

Naruto was ready to agree, but he didn't get the chance. At that moment, there was an argument breakout out in the hallway that grew louder and louder until the doors burst open and the man introduced as some retired and famous athlete from Britain came in.

"Extraordinary, absolutely extraordinary!" The smiling man beamed as he squeezed Harry's arm.

"Gentlemen . . . ladies," He added, approaching the fireside and addressing the other three. "May I introduce — incredible though it may seem — the sixth Quint-wizard champion?"

Viktor Krum straightened up. His surly face darkened as he surveyed Harry. Cedric looked nonplussed. He looked from Bagman to Harry and back again as though sure he must have misheard what Bagman had said. Fleur Delacour, however, tossed her hair, smiling, and said, "Oh, vairy funny joke, Meester Bagman."

"Joke?" Bagman repeated, bewildered. "No, no, not at all! Harry's name just came out of the Goblet of Fire!"

Krum's thick eyebrows contracted slightly. Cedric was still looking politely bewildered. Fleur frowned.

"But evidently zair 'as been a mistake," she said contemptuously to Bagman. "'E cannot compete. 'E is too young."

"Well . . . it is amazing," said Bagman, rubbing his smooth chin and smiling down at Harry. "But, as you know, the age restriction was only imposed this year as an extra safety measure. And as his name's come out of the goblet . . . I mean, I don't think there can be any ducking out at this stage... It's down in the rules, you're obliged . . . Harry will just have to do the best he —"

The door behind them opened again, and a large group of people came in: Professor Dumbledore, followed closely by Mr. Crouch, Professor Karkaroff, Madame Maxime, Lady Tsunade, Master Roshi, Professor McGonagall, and Professor Snape. Harry heard the buzzing of the hundreds of students on the other side of the wall, before Professor McGonagall closed the door.

"Madame Maxime!" said Fleur at once, striding over to her headmistress. "Zey are saying zat zis little boy is to compete also!"

"Yeah, what the heck, Master? I thought only one champion per school was allowed." Videl exclaimed.

"It is true. The Goblet of Fire was meant to ensure just that would happen. So it should be impossible for Hogwarts to be granted a second champion." Roshi said.

"But I didn't put my name in though!" Harry spoke up.

"Hmm...then perhaps someone else put your name in the cup." Roshi mused.

"I'm sure, like one of the boy's professors." Professor Karkaroff said accusingly.

"Then how do you explain me? I didn't put my name in the cup." Naruto countered.

"Naruto, hush." Tsunade ordered. "We have more pressing matters to deal with."

"I don't like your tone." Professor McGonagall snapped at Karkaroff. "Are you insinuating that Hogwarts cheated somehow?"

"You have to admit that it doesn't look good on your end." Lady Tsunade said. "Hogwarts now has two champions. If this is Hogwarts' attempt to cheat, it's very obvious and in poor taste."

"I agree. It's too obvious." Roshi added.

"Vhat are you two going on about?" Madame Maxime spoke. "Obviously zis is just Hogwarts trying to ensure two pieces of ze pie."

"Something doesn't add up." Videl mused, her detective side leaking out. "Harry, you didn't put your name in the goblet. It was impossible for you to do so. Naruto said he didn't put his name in the cup, yet he was chosen as well. However, I did witness him putting in a name."

"Zo you two are conspiring togethzer." Fleur deduced.

"What? No, I didn't put his name in. I've never even met the guy!" Naruto defended.

"Then who's name did you put in?" Tsunade demanded.

"What does it matter?" Naruto said embarrassed, this was Sakura's personal mentor he was talking to.

"Forget it, we can discuss this later." Lady Tsunade sighed.

"Potter obviously put his own name in." Karkaroff said

"Not possible. Dumbledore put an age restriction barrier around the goblet." Roshi interjected.

"Zhen 'is charm obviously failed." Madame Maxime said.

"It is entirely possible." Dumbledore humbly offered.

"No, it is not." Professor McGonagall snapped. "I don't know how Mr. Potter got his name into the Goblet, but no one under 17 could have done it."

"It matters not how it happened." Barty started. "The goblet has chosen him. Despite his age, he is a tournament champion. As is stated in the binding contract of the Goblet of Fire."

"This is completely unfair." Karkaroff complained.

"The rules are absolute. Potter is to compete." Barty stated firmly, leaving no room for further argument.

All eyes turned on Harry. Naruto didn't know what to make of this. A second Hogwarts champion? And he himself was chosen as well. He didn't put his name in. He was half sure that he didn't even want to be his school's champion. Was someone putting people's names into the Goblet as a prank?

"With that being said, you champions are entitled to some information regarding the 1st challenge." Barty Crouch said.

The six champions leaned forward.

"The first task will be on November 24th. Prepare for anything." Crouch said.

"That's it?" Naruto asked.

"That is all I am allowed to give you. Good luck, Champions." Barty said.

"What? So, this could be a pie eating contest for all we know?" Videl exclaimed.

"It's far more dangerous than a simple pie eating contest. But if it were, the aliens Goku and Gohan would perform perfectly." Barty stated simply.

"Aliens?" Harry asked.

"H-how...did you know...?" Videl stammered in shock.

"My dear, even the secrets of ninjas do not get passed the Ministry of Magic." Barty scoffed.

Lady Tsunade smirked behind Barty's back.

"In any case. Just know that whatever the task may be, it will not be for the faint of heart. The Tri- sorry, Quint-wizard tasks are designed to test your wit and your ability to adapt to anything."

"So what now?" Cedric asked.

"Now you may return to your beds and tomorrow, you begin preparing for the 1st exam. Remember, you six stand alone. No teachers may assist you in preparing for the trials." Bagman said.

"Um, what happens if we fail one of the trials?" Naruto asked.

"The only way you fail is if one of you dies." Barty said, making Harry gulp.

"But not to worry." Bagman smiled. "Every safety protocol has been made and experienced wizards will step in if it is determined that you cannot complete the task."

"So there's a threat of death but you don't want us to worry about it, right?" Videl guessed.

"Pretty much, yes." Bagman nodded.

"Yup...nothing out of the ordinary." Videl said as she cracked her neck.

"Very well. Have a pleasant night. And we shall see you bright and early on the morning of the 24th of November." Bagman smiled.

* * *

Just like that. The champions split up. Harry and Cedric stayed behind. Madame Maxime and Fluer headed back to their carriage speaking in rapid French. Professor Karkaroff and Krum returned to their ship in silence. Leaving Master Roshi, Videl, Lady Tsunade, and Naruto to head back for the woods in relative silence.

"You look rather young for a headmistress." Roshi commented to Tsunade, trying to strike up conversation.

"Don't be fooled. She's using a jutsu to hide her appearance." Naruto said before getting smacked upside the head.

"Don't be saying unnecessary things, brat." Tsunade lectured.

"Wait...it's a farce?" Videl asked in awe.

Tsunade sighed. "No, it's a ninjutsu technique."

"So how old are you really? And... how did you get boobs that big? Don't they hurt your back?" Videl asked.

A tick began to form on Tsunade's forehead next to her diamond seal. "It's not polite to ask a lady her age, you know."

"Hey, in case you weren't aware, I'm a woman too." Videl pointed out.

"That doesn't make it any less rude. And there are two men walking besides us." Tsunade said. "I expected better manners from you Chinese."

"I was just curious is all." Videl said before hearing Roshi chuckle.

"What? Is something amusing to you, old man?" Tsunade snapped.

"You youngins are so quick to anger these days. You need to learn how to relax once in a while." Roshi said.

"I'll relax once I'm back at camp with some warm sake in my belly. This whole Potter fiasco threw a monkey wrench into everything."

"So, it would seem...but I suspect a darker force at work here." Roshi mused.

"So, you're not one bit suspicious of this doofus putting a name in the goblet?" Videl asked.

"Hey! If you must know, I put Sakura-chan's name on that paper!" Naruto snapped without thinking.

The trio looked at the embarrassed blond. Tsunade had another smirk on her lips that Naruto couldn't see. Roshi was a little confused as he didn't know who this Sakura-chan was.

"Man, you're hopeless." Videl said.

"Hey, it's not like that!" Naruto cried.

"Regardless. Someone one must like you better than you think." Tsunade smirked. "My money is on Tenten."

"Well then it certainly isn't Tenten." Naruto muttered.

"What was that?" Tsunade growled.

Naruto gulped. "N-nothing..."

Tsunade scoffed before looking to Roshi. "Just how old are you anyway, old man?"

Roshi chuckled. "389 years old."

Naruto had to do a double take while Tsunade looked mildly unimpressed. "You don't look a day over 250."

"The techniques my master taught me gave me exceptionally long life. This will also be passed down to my students as well by simply pushing themselves beyond normal human limits. Videl here has excelled greatly in my teachings. I wouldn't be surprised if she outlives me." Roshi chuckled at the end.

Now Videl did a double take. "Woah, hold on. Older than you?"

"Yup. One day you will look as good as me. Hehe." Roshi laughed.

"Why didn't you ever say anything?!" Videl exclaimed.

"You never asked." Roshi shrugged.

"We'll see how well your longevity helps you in the first task. Naruto will wipe the floor with Videl." Tsunade said, patting Naruto on the back.

That pissed Videl off. "What did you just say old lady?!"

A chill in the wind blew past them.

"Well...nice knowing you." Naruto sighed slowly edging up against the wall away from the killing field.

Just the way Naruto said that made Videl raise her guard. She had a feeling the old headmistress was going to pound her for that.

"I'LL KILL YOU!" Tsunade screamed as she launched her fist at the brat who dared call her old.

Videl was quick on her feet and counter attacked. She dodged Tsunade's fist, latched onto her arm and slammed her into the ground with great force.

"Do not underestimate my master's teachings." Videl warned before continuing on.

"Wow...she's good." Naruto commented as Tsunade stood up and brushed herself off.

"Very good. Be sure to avenge me if the first task turns out to be one on one combat." Tsunade said good natured-ly while brushing a beetle off of her shoulder.

"You're taking this rather well." Naruto pointed out.

"I have to. I have international cooperation to think about." Tsunade said. "Let's go. I'm sure your friends will want to celebrate your selection."

"Somehow I don't see that happening..."

"Lighten up. You want the competition to think that we're all a bunch of sad-sacks?"

The two teacher and student pairs split up. Videl and Roshi headed for a camp of half dome houses that had cropped up out in the fields of the castle, next to the Quidditch arena, while Naruto and Tsunade headed deep into the Forbidden Forest to their camp. Instead of which, they found a four-story wooden Japanese style castle.

 _'Here we go, I guess.'_ Naruto thought as they stepped through the door. The room was completely black and as silent as a crypt. Which was weird. Naruto's classmates should have been back by now...

"Where the Hell are they?" Naruto asked. "Any why is it so dark?"

There was a shuffle and then a dozen candles flickered to life at once. Confetti was fired into the air and someone was blowing a party horn.

"SURPRISE!" The Konoha 16 shouted in unison. Neatly knocking Naruto flat on his butt, covered in confetti.

"WAAAH!" Naruto cried in surprise.

"Congrats, Naruto!" Sakura cheered as she ran up and hugged him.

The blond was surprised by the hug, but not as much as he was surprised by the looks of cheer on everyone's faces. Ino, Kiba, Choji, Rock Lee, Tenten, Hinata, even Sai and Shikamaru were cracking smiles. The only ones not smiling were Shino, Neji, Sasuke and his merry trio.

"But...I don't even know how I was chosen." Naruto stated.

"Oh, don't worry about that." Sakura waved off.

"Uh, you got your names pulled out of the Goblet. Duh." Kiba said.

"But I didn't put my name in." Naruto clarified. But no one listened to him. Instead someone turned on music and another got the idea to hoist Naruto up by his arms and legs and lift him over everyone's heads. He spent the next few minutes crowd surfing while Choji threw BBQ on the communal fireplace.

"I don't get it. Why are you guys throwing me a party?" Naruto asked.

Everyone was sitting around now, passing around drinks while the meat was cooking.

"Isn't it obvious?" Sakura asked.

"I guess, but I didn't put my name in. I don't know how I got picked." Naruto whispered to Sakura so that no one else could hear.

"But I watched you put in a name." Sakura pointed out.

"It wasn't my name. I don't know how my name got in there. Did you put it in?"

Sakura paused. She was the one who put his name in there, but she couldn't tell him that...or could she? Would he be mad at her? Or will he be accepting of it? There were too many variables to take a risk telling him the truth.

"No, I didn't. But who's name did you put in?" Sakura asked, hoping he bought her lie.

"Uh...no one." Naruto said, too embarrassed to admit he put Sakura's name in, but only to spite Sasuke.

"What do you mean no one?" Sakura asked in confusion.

"I just...um...scribbled a nonsense name on my paper... I chickened out from entering." Naruto lied.

Sakura gave him a look showing him she wasn't convinced. "Just tell me. I won't say anything."

Naruto sighed. "Yours, okay? I figured that I would give you an edge."

Sakura gasped in shock. He put her name in there? Why? She had so many questions that she wanted answers. "You...put my name in...?"

"Yeah. It's no big deal." Naruto shrugged.

"But...why me? Why me out of the others?" Sakura asked.

"You're my best friend, aren't you? Who else would I pick?"

Sakura shrugged. "Fair point, but you really thought I could do it?"

"Of course, I could. Why? Did you not think you could do it?"

"I-ah… didn't want that kind of attention. That's why I didn't put my name in."

"But we came all this way just to compete. You told me you wanted to compete." Naruto said.

"I did at first...but after thinking about it, I started to second guess myself and...well..."

"Well what?" Naruto asked.

Sakura sighed. "I lied to you earlier, Naruto...I put your name in the goblet instead of my own..." She said shamefully.

"You did?" Naruto asked.

"Yes...I knew if anyone could do it, it would be you. That and it would shut the naysayers up."

"Naysayers?"

"Yes. The people who don't believe in you. As in the people back home. If you can win this, you would gain all of their respect."

"You'd do that for me?" Naruto asked.

"Of course, I would...I'd do anything for you. You know that."

"Because we're best friends?"

"Exactly."

Naruto smiled, the fact that Sakura would go so far for him... He could always count on her.

* * *

Meanwhile, at the Kame camp. Videl was receiving a warm reception as well as some jealous jabs from her best friend.

"Sorry, Erasa. It's just the luck of the draw." Videl smirked.

"You're right. I guess we all have to use the gifts God gave us. You have your luck of the draw and I have my superior looks." Erasa teased.

"Oh please..." Videl scoffed.

"What, don't believe me?" Erasa asked as she flicked her hair like she was in a shampoo commercial.

Videl rolled her eyes. "I could do that too if I felt like it. That doesn't make me look like a model."

"Videl, you could do that if you used some conditioner." Erasa sassed.

"I do use conditioner. I just choose to have my hair tied up like this so it doesn't get in the way."

"Then you aren't using the right conditioner."

"Screw you."

"To be honest, I've never seen you with your hair down, Videl." Alyx commented.

"Yeah, neither have I come to think of it." Angela added.

"Well there are times I do when I feel like it. Now is not one of those times." Videl answered.

"You mean right after you've been selected as the Champion? Cause this seems like the perfect time to celebrate." Erasa said.

Videl sighed. "If it's to get you all to shut up." She undid her hair ties that held her pigtails in place and let her hair flowing in the air, running her hand through it a few times to make sure there wasn't any knots before letting it rest on her shoulders. "Satisfied?"

"Immeasurably." Erasa smirked.

"You look beautiful, Videl...you should leave your hair like that." Alyx complimented.

"Hell no. I need to train and fight." Videl said.

"Somehow, I don't think we'll be doing much of that here." Angela stated.

"What else would we do?"

"Well, what I'm going to do is check out this school some more. See what makes it tick. Besides, we were offered to attend the regularly scheduled classes as guests." Angela stated.

"I don't see the point. We don't even use wands." Videl said.

"Oh come on, it could be fun." Erasa smirked. "I hear that wizards are known for their love potions. Perhaps we could crash a Potions class and pick up a thing or two?"

"What for? I don't love anyone here." Videl pointed out.

"Exactly. I'm going to give you the potion so that you'll stop being such a prune." Erasa threatened.

"Like hell you will. I don't want love right now. That is the last thing on my mind."

"Well the rest of us don't have the tournament to worry about anymore. We've got to find something to occupy our time and I'm thinking that our host school has a few dapper boys they could spare." Erasa said with a devilish grin on her lips.

"Oh my God, I know, right? Did you see that Hogwarts champion? The blond one?" Angela gushed.

"Then you 3 have at it. I want nothing to do with it." Videl firmly said.

"Not even anyone in our class?" Alyx asked.

"Are you kidding me? Dave is an emo dick, Pen is a pussy, Sharpner is an asshole and Gohan is a mommy's boy nerd." Videl reminded.

"Yeah, our own pickings are pretty slim." Angela said as she looked over to the other side of the room where their male classmates were trying to balance party cups on their noses and just ended up spilling them on each other.

"You gotta admit that Gohan is hot." Erasa pointed out.

"Pfft...if you say so. I don't see it." Videl scoffed.

"What happened between you two? You two used to be such good friends." Erasa demanded.

"He turned out to be a dweeb." Videl scoffed.

"Oh don't give me that. You two were standing side by side to deliver the finishing blow to Cell all those years ago. You liked him then and he was just as much of a nerd then as he is now. So, I'm not buying that excuse."

"Well then you'll have to go without one." Videl said, shutting down the conversation and storming off. Erasa yelled some profanities at her, but Videl didn't care. She refused to bring up this conversation again. Each time drew closer and closer to her admitting the truth. That she felt so betrayed by Gohan back when the two of them fought together to defeat Cell. Years spent training together, countless late night talks up on the roof of Kame Temple, and he couldn't even trust her with his most important secret. How else was she supposed to react when she learned off-handedly that her best friend was half alien?

 _'He lied to me. He played me for a fool and made me look weak...'_ Videl thought sourly, just the thoughts leaving a bitter taste in her mouth. She should have known he was different when she noticed him soaking up all the learning material like a sponge and became top of the class in everything. She struggled to learn all she could and master it while he had it all down pat in a few days. He always left her in the dust, but at the time, she felt that it was just because his father was helping him. Her own father thought this was just a school of tricksters so he never even supported her, let alone help her.

When the Cell Games rolled around, she watched in horror as her father was brushed aside like a fly. But not her. She held her own and quite well against the Cell Jr's. But when Gohan transformed before her, that's when she knew he wasn't normal. She could only watch from there as Gohan was nearly killed. And only then did anyone bother to tell her that he was a Saiyan. She didn't have to ask too many questions about what a Sayian was. Because she lived through the harrowing events that took place when Vegeta and Nappa destroyed what is now Satan City. Despite the fact that Goku was nothing like the Saiyan's who attacked East City, she wasn't any less afraid of them. That moment in her childhood scarred her for life. The events with Cell was no different. If anything, she was even more afraid of them.

 _'I wish they would just go back to where they came from.'_ Videl thought. Unfortunately, her wish was nothing more than a pipe dream. Where they came from no longer exists. Their planet was destroyed by an alien tyrant several decades ago. She didn't want them dead, but at the same time, she didn't want them around her or her friends.

 _'I'll show them...I'll show them just how powerful a Human can be.'_ Videl thought with absolute certainty.

As she thought that, from across the room, another Saiyan was having a little chat with their headmaster.

"So Goku, sad that your son didn't get in?"

"No, not really." Goku waved off with a grin. "You always want to see your own kids win these things, but Videl would be my second choice. She smart, powerful, and determined."

"I agree. I can't believe how far she has come. She's the strongest human alive and she's almost as strong as Gohan."

"Well, Gohan in his base form." Goku said.

"Indeed. I have wondered a few times if she had Saiyan blood in her. But the bloodlust for fighting isn't there and both of her parents were Human." Roshi mused.

"She's just very determined." Goku nodded.

"I've gotten to the point where there is very little I can teach her now. Same with most of the others. I think this is their last year with me. After that, their teachings fall to you." Roshi stated.

"Hey, don't say that. You sound like one of those death flags in Gohan's books." Goku said.

"Goku...I'm nearly 400 years old. I can't keep up with these youngins anymore. I have decided to retire after their graduation...I'm too old to be teaching new dogs old tricks. My masters training has been passed on to others. So long as they can train future generations, then Mutaito's dream will be complete."

"I see." Goku nodded. "I will be honored to take your place."

Roshi nodded. "Also, be mindful of Videl. She seems to have a disliking for Saiyans."

"I know. Although my wife has commented that it has more to do with her shock of finding out that Gohan was a Saiyan and never telling her." Goku said. "But I can't imagine why."

"When Vegeta and Nappa arrived on Earth, she was living in East City when they destroyed it." Roshi explained. "That day she was severely traumatized mentally. She's afraid of Saiyan's."

"That's just what my wife told me." Goku raised his hands.

"So that's why. And yes, she feels betrayed that Gohan kept that a secret from her."

"Should we intervene?"

"No. Youth will learn better from experiences than lectures from their elders. That's the way it's always been." Roshi chuckled.

"I say that you keep doing what you're doing. She will come around eventually."

"I hope so." Goku said as he took a sip of his punch. "So what about this Harry Potter kid? You said that someone put his name in the Goblet of Fire? Why?"

"I don't know why. But I read his mind. He never put his name in and he didn't ask anyone to put it in for him."

"And you don't think it was just to give Hogwarts an edge in the tournament?" Goku asked, even if he already knew what his own answer would be.

"I sensed no deception form the headmaster or the staff. They were just as confused as he was."

"So, then who? Who else but Harry benefits from him entering the tournament?" Goku asked.

"I don't know for sure..." Roshi mused.

"You don't have any ideas?"

"None that are worth sharing until I know more." Roshi said, taking a deep drink from his punch glass. "I shall speak with Dumbledore in the morning and let you know if we need to concern ourselves."


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note from Panda: Sorry for the delay, some unexpected stuff came up. Chapter 4 should be up Sunday or Monday when we feel like it.**

 **I would like to thank J.K. Rowling for providing a good chunk of dialogue for this chapter. I don't mean literally of course, but we did take more than our fair share of descriptions and words directly from Goblet of Fire the book. All for the sake of authenticity. We wouldn't dream of using it for profit. Anyway, enjoy the chapter.**

* * *

Chapter 3 - The Weighing of the Wands and Skills

"Human Juggernaut Jutsu!" Choji cried before he rolled into a ball of destruction and barreled right towards an exhausted Naruto.

The whiskered ninja forced his fatigue into the back of his mind and crossed his fingers to create a single Shadow Clone. Choji was almost on the blond when his clone linked his fingers together to give Naruto a boosted jump over his opponent.

Naruto threw some shuriken at Choji's exposed back before he was blindsided by a cloud of Shino's beetles.

"I think he's getting better." Ino said to Sakura.

"You think? I haven't noticed." Sakura said sarcastically.

Naruto flashed through his hand signs before cupping his hands over his mouth. _'Wind Style: Air Bullets!'_ Naruto thought as he spat out a concentrated burst of Wind chakra directly at the beetle swarm, scattering them like a flurry of snow.

"Did you really put his name in it?" Ino asked.

"Yes, I did." Sakura said without hesitation.

"Wow...so much for my theory."

"What?" Sakura asked as Naruto engaged with Rock Lee keeping the pressure on him.

"That you had a crush on him."

"What? No, I don't." Sakura said. "He's my best friend."

"I figured when you said you put his name in the cup. I wouldn't do that for Sai."

"He needs this more than I do..." Sakura said sadly. Remembering the looks he still got from passing civilians just by walking down the street. In their own village, only their village. In infuriated her beyond anything. He was the sweetest guy in the world, yet some people just refused to stop clinging to their prejudices.

If he could win this tournament and bring glory back to the Leaf village... Maybe that would be enough.

Ino saw the look on Sakura's face and smirked. "Maybe you do have some feelings for him."

"Maybe as a brother..." Sakura shrugged.

"Maybe..." Ino said. _'Or something more.'_

"Whatever, how are you and Sai doing, by the way? I never expected you to want to go out with a guy with all the emotional capacity of a teaspoon." Sakura said, hoping to turn the conversation away from her love life for once.

"He's getting better. He's not bad in bed either." Ino smirked.

"You're sleeping with him?" Sakura hissed while Naruto fought off Kiba and Akamaru.

"Well, duh. Why not? We've been dating for 3 months now."

"Well, at least it's not days. Otherwise, there might be some merit to people calling you the Konoha Academy bicycle." Sakura said.

"You tell that bitch Ami that at least I'm not the village bicycle." Ino snapped, knowing only her old bully would say that. Of course, she only got more bitter after Sakura and Ino left her in the dust.

Sakura snickered. "Well, at least you proved her wrong. I would have waited."

"You're just jealous that you haven't gotten laid yet." Ino smirked.

"Keep telling yourself that." Sakura sighed as she watched Naruto throw two clones at Neji and Hinata to keep them distracted while he faced off against Tenten and her chain-sickle, jumping over her sweeping attacks and closing the distance as soon as possible. Naruto held his palms together in a combat stance that Sakura had never seen before. She thought it was a wind based jutsu, but she didn't notice any hand signs. And Naruto wasn't that quick with his hand signs.

"Oh, that's right. You're still waiting for _Sasuke-kun_ to finally come around and ask you out." Ino said dramatically.

"Hush. Naruto is doing something new." Sakura silenced.

By the time Naruto had caught up with Tenten, she had switched to what could be said to be a Warhammer but would be more accurately described as a minifridge on a stick. She swung her mighty hammer at Naruto intending to knock him out of the fight, but Naruto motioned as if to catch the hammer with his outstretched hands.

 _'Idiot, this'll break your arms!'_ Sakura thought before the glowing chakra in Naruto's hands exploded outward, sending a rippling shockwave through Tenten's hammer, smashing it into useless debris.

"Woah...I've never seen him do that before." Ino said in awe.

"Me either." Sakura said in awe as Tenten fell back on her butt.

"Now I'm having second thoughts on my choice of boyfriends..." Ino said, still in shock.

"Oh, for Sage's sake, Ino." Sakura lectured as she caught a glimpse of Naruto's golden hair catching the light.

"Naruto has certainly improved." A new voice spoke up. Sakura was broken out of her spell to look behind her where Kakashi-sensei stood, looking like a scarecrow that had always been there.

"Kakashi-sensei? Is it time for our lessons already?" Sakura asked.

"No. I'm here for Naruto." Kakashi said.

"For Naruto? What for?" Sakura asked

"They need him for the Weighing of the Wands. A traditional private ceremony before the 1st task of the Triwizard tournament starts properly."

"Oh shit! He told me about that!" Sakura exclaimed before facing his direction. "NARUTO! GET OVER HERE!"

"I DIDN'T DO IT!" Naruto cried, knowing that tone was only used when Sakura caught him pulling a prank she didn't approve of.

"WEIGHING OF THE WANDS, BAKA!"

"OH SHIT!" Naruto cried.

"The what?" Kiba asked.

"Never you mind!" Sakura ordered. "Naruto, go!" She jabbed her finger at the castle.

Wasting no time, Naruto leaped away from his sparring partners and towards the castle. He tore through the fields and entered the halls of the castle.

"Which way to the wand weighing?" Naruto asked himself.

"It's that way." The portrait of a man in a blue jacket said, pointing down the hallway.

"Woah! Um...thanks, Mr..." Naruto said in shock.

"Never mind me. You're going to be late." The portrait man said.

"Thank you." Naruto said, before leaping off towards his destination. On his way, he jumped over three groups of Hogwarts students walking through the halls and one group of giggling girls that he sailed over. The girls clapped at his performance and he gave them a friendly wave before arriving at the same door where he was first sent as a Champion.

"There you are, Naruto." Lady Tsunade greeted him at the door.

"Sorry, I forgot about this and got caught up in training." Naruto said sheepishly.

"Better late than never, even if you are the last one here." Tsunade said as she led him inside where Naruto could see all the different headmasters, Bagman, a wizard photographer judging by how often he took his hands off of his camera and it kept levitating in place, and all the different Champions having private chats with their respective headmasters. Except for...

"Where is that Potter kid? Did he drop out?" Naruto asked.

"No... he was just here." Tsunade said in confusion as she looked around for him.

Naruto looked around and saw Dumbledore chatting with another old man that Naruto hasn't noticed before. He was balding with grey hair and if Naruto had to guess he would say that the man was a shoemaker. The man motioned at Naruto and Dumbledore looked back with a smile on his face.

"Who is that?" Naruto asked.

"Ah, Mr. Uzumaki. Good to see you. Now we can begin." Dumbledore said as he walked over to the nearby broom closet and opened the doors, revealing inside to be Harry Potter and a woman in 80s fashions sitting together.

"Ah, Rita Seeker. I believe we need Harry back now." Dumbledore politely requested.

Before she could answer, Harry was scrambling to get out.

"Okay...?" Naruto said as Dumbledore and the woman had a quick but friendly conversation.

"Sorry...I just had to get away from her." Harry said.

"What the Hell were you doing in there with her?" Naruto asked, fearing the worst.

"She wanted to interview me. But it was more of a one-sided interview."

"Why would she want to interview you in a broom closet?"

"I don't know."

The other champions were now sitting in chairs near the door, and so the two of them took it as their cue to sit down as well. Harry sat down quickly next to Cedric while Naruto sat next to Videl. They all looking up at the velvet-covered table, where six of the seven judges were now sitting — Professor Karkaroff, Madame Maxime, Lady Tsunade, Master Roshi, Mr. Crouch, and Ludo Bagman. Rita Skeeter settled herself down in a corner; Harry saw her slip the parchment out of her bag again, spread it on her knee, suck the end of the Quick-Quotes Quill, and place it once more on the parchment.

"May I introduce Mr. Ollivander?" said Dumbledore, taking his place at the judges' table and talking to the champions. "He will be checking your wands to ensure that they are in good condition before the tournament."

Videl raised her hand. "And what if I don't have a wand?"

"Those who don't have wands need merely to demonstrate any form of magic. In your case, Miss Satan, you and Mr. Uzumaki will just have to demonstrate what your powers can do." Dumbledore explained.

"Ah, thank you." Videl said, now wondering what exactly she could show that would qualify as magic and what she should keep under wraps until the tasks.

 _'Hmm...Hellzone Grenade would blow this place up... I suppose I could use the Multiform Technique.'_ Videl thought.

Meanwhile, Naruto was having similar thoughts. _'I could use Air Bullet, but that would cause quite a bit of damage...hmm...I could use Shadow clones...oh wait, stealth jutsu. Yeah, that's perfect.'_

"Those who have wands, please form a line in front of us and we will inspect your wands one at a time." Dumbledore instructed.

"Let's start with ladies first." Ollivander spoke. "Mademoiselle Delacour, could we have your wand first?" As he stepped into the empty part of the room.

Fleur stepped forward, her hair bouncing with each step, giving off a scent that reminded Naruto of strawberries and cherry blossoms. Thankfully Tsunade slapped him lightly upside the head to snap him out of his trance. Fleur handed the wand maker her wand and he carefully inspected it

"Hmmm..." He said.

He twirled the wand between his long fingers like a baton and it emitted a number of pink and golden sparks. Then he held it close to his eyes and examined it carefully.

"Yes." He said quietly. "Nine and a half inches... inflexible... rosewood... and containing... dear me..."

"An 'air from ze 'ead of a veela." Fleur said. "One of my grandmuzzer's."

Naruto blinked, looking over at Videl who looked equally confused by what a veela was, and then to Harry, who seemed to be having his own, Ah-Ha, moment.

"Do you have any idea what he's talking about?" Naruto whispered to Videl.

"Not a clue." Videl whispered back.

"Do you?" Naruto then asked Harry.

"Do I what?" Harry asked.

"What he's talking about." Videl clarified.

"Who? Ollivander?"

"No. The girl, what's a veela?" Naruto hissed.

"They are, I think, seductive magical water creatures." Harry said, going off of what little he actually knew about the veela.

"Miss Satan. You're next." Dumbledore called.

"What? Already?" Videl asked, not expecting to be called up so soon.

"Yes, please step forward." Dumbledore motioned.

Videl nervously walked up to the front of them, unsure if the multi-form would be good enough.

 _'Wait a minute...IDIOT! I do have a wand!'_ Videl thought as she remembered that her entire class had gotten some lessons from Roshi's sister Baba.

"Excuse me, but I just remembered that I had received some western magical training from a witch known as Fortune Teller Baba. I can use some of her spells." Videl informed.

"So you do have a wand?" Ollivander asked.

"Um...yes, let me see if I have it." Videl said as she looked through her Gi and pulled out a strange metal case. She opened it to reveal several pill looking items inside it. "Let's see...ah, here it is." She said before taking out the strange device. She pushed the plunger down and tossed it on the floor. It exploded into smoke and revealed a small chest.

"What manner of sorcery is this?" Bagman asked.

"Technology, not magic. One moment." Videl spoke as she searched her chest until she pulled out a 12-inch wand. "Ah, there you are."

Ollivander took her wand in his hands and inspected it closely.

"Interesting wand...hmm...12 inches...inflexible redwood, very nice. The core...I'm not familiar with this. It feels extremely powerful…"

"It's made of the heartstring from Shenron, the immortal Dragon. Or so I'm told." Videl informed, making the veteran wizards go wide-eyed in shock.

"Shenron? Ze vish-granting dragon?" Madam Maxime breathed, making Fleur look at her like she said something ridiculous like wish-granting dragon.

"The very same." Roshi nodded proudly

"Hmmm..." Ollivander said as he pointed the wand upwards and muttered a soft, "Incendio." The wand shot forward a torrent of flames. "REDUCO!" Ollivander cried as everyone took cover. The flames died as Naruto kept clutching his head.

"My my, this is an exceptionally powerful wand, Miss Satan. Almost too powerful." Ollivander said in a mix of horror and joy.

"Yes, that's why I don't use it too often." Videl said shakily.

"I'm sure you just need proper training with it." Dumbledore said as he pulled out a wand unlike anything anyone had ever seen.

"We tend to focus more on physical and mental training that wand work." Roshi admitted.

"Nevertheless, I'm no stranger to powerful wands. During her stay, I can give her lessons to control it." Dumbledore offered.

"I'm afraid you can't. Not during this competition." Bagman said.

"Thank you though." Videl said. "But I won't be using my wand in the competition anyway."

"Then what will you be using?" Ollivander asked.

Videl smirked and held up her hands. "My fists."

"Can you perform magic without your wand?"

"You could call it magic." Videl said before crossing her arms in front of her and creating 3 copies of herself.

The younger wizards all gasped at this new display of magic, except for one.

"You know the Shadow Clone Jutsu?" Naruto asked.

"Multiform, not Shadow Clones." Videl corrected.

"What's the difference?" Naruto asked.

"If I recall what I've heard about Shadow Clones, they take a small fraction of your energy to create one and they disappear after one hit." One of the Videl copies said.

"This form splits my energy evenly among my copies, enabling them to take multiple hits until I bring them back into my being." Another copy stated.

"And if I kill one?" Naruto asked, intrigued.

"They turn back into the energy I used to create them and return to my body."

"No way. Do you retain the memories that they have?" Naruto asked

"Our consciousness is collective. We all know what the other is thinking but we can act on our own. With this form, it creates a stable mental link where it just takes a thought to tell my copies what to do." The real Videl said.

"Awesome." Naruto said before Videl undid her technique.

"Thank you, Miss Satan." Dumbledore said. "I believe that will be sufficient."

"Thank you, sir." Videl bowed before letting the next champion go.

"Mr. Diggory." Ollivander said and Cedric stepped forward to produce his wand.

"Ah, now, this is one of mine, isn't it?" Mr. Ollivander said with much more enthusiasm, as Cedric handed over his wand. "Yes, I remember it well. Containing a single hair from the tail of a particularly fine male unicorn... must have been seventeen hands; nearly gored me with his horn after I plucked his tail. Twelve and a quarter inches... ash... pleasantly springy. It's in fine condition... You treat it regularly?"

"Polished it last night." Cedric said, grinning.

Naruto felt the sensation of Harry rubbing his wand next to him. Then golden sparks shot out of his end and hit Naruto's pant leg.

"Dude." Naruto whispered.

"Mr. Krum, if you please." Ollivander spoke.

Viktor Krum got up and slouched round-shouldered and duck-footed, towards Mr. Ollivander. He thrust out his wand and stood scowling, with his hands in the pockets of his robes.

"Hmm." Mr. Ollivander said. "This is a Gregorovitch creation, unless I'm much mistaken? A fine wand-maker, though the styling is never quite what I... however..."

He lifted the wand and examined it minutely, turning it over and over before his eyes.

"Yes... hornbeam and dragon heartstring?" He shot at Krum, who nodded. "Rather thicker than one usually sees... quite rigid... ten and a quarter inches... Avis!"

The hornbeam wand let off a blast like a gun, and a number of small, twittering birds flew out of the end and through the open window into the watery sunlight.

"Good." Mr. Ollivander said, handing the wand back to Krum.

"Now that leaves Mr. Potter and Mr. Uzumaki."

"I'll go. But I don't have a wand either." Naruto said. "Unless you want to see one of my kunai?"

"That won't be necessary." Mr. Ollivander reassured. "Just a simple demonstration of ninjutsu will suffice."

"A simple demonstration, huh?" Naruto said, thinking long and hard. He wasn't exactly the master of a thousand jutsus, so it shouldn't be tough. Then again, there was something to be said about the intimidation tactic... Although...

Naruto bit his thumb enough to draw blood and began flashing through hand signs slowly enough that everyone could observe.

"Summoning Jutsu!" Naruto cried as he slammed his palms into the ground, creating a cloud of smoke. When the smoke dissipated, there was a tiny toad sitting in the middle of the room with a cute little vest.

"Hi-dee-ho!" The toad waved.

"Astounding..." Ollivander gasped.

The rest of the wizards looked equally impressed. Cedric, Fleur, and Krum were giving their full attention. Videl was looking amazed. "Okay Gamatatsu, thanks, I just needed a demonstration." Naruto said before clapping his hands and sending his summons back to Mount Myoboku.

Tsunade just looked at Naruto with a stare that said, "we'll talk about this later."

"And finally, Mr. Potter." Ollivander said.

Harry got to his feet and walked past Naruto to Mr. Ollivander. He handed over his wand.

"Aaaaah, yes." Mr. Ollivander said, his pale eyes suddenly gleaming. "Yes, yes, yes. How well I remember... Eleven inches long... holly... with a phoenix tail core..." Naruto could swear that Harry grimaced when Ollivander mentioned that last part.

After a long time examining Harry's wand, Ollivander finally made it shoot out a jet of wine before declaring it in perfect working order.

"Thank you all." Dumbledore said, standing up from the judges' table. "You may go back to your lessons now - or perhaps it would be quicker just to go down to dinner, as they are about to end..."

"Photos, Dumbledore, photos!" Bagman cried excitedly. "All the judges and champions. What do you think, Rita?"

Rita Skeeter smiled. "Oh, that sounds like a lovely idea. Although..." She said as she eyed Harry. "Perhaps we could also get some individual shots."

"A group shot is fine." Dumbledore said.

But Rita would not be denied. After several minutes of posing and re-posing. Rita's photographer had taken photos of all the champions and the judges, both in groups and individually. They finally had to call it quits after the photographer got a bit too liberal with the definition of candid shots of Headmistress Lady Tsunade.

"Alright, that's quite enough. Come on, Naruto." Lady Tsunade said as she led Naruto back out to the hallway by the scruff of his neck.

"Ow! That hurts!" Naruto protested.

"Quit your whining. I didn't want any dawdling from you." Tsunade said as they rounded a few corners until they finally came to a stop where she thought they could speak in private.

"Just what the Hell was that earlier?" Tsunade demanded.

"Um...summoning jutsu?" Naruto said in confusion.

"Don't give me that. You summoned a toad, Naruto!" Tsunade said.

"So?"

"So you and I both know there is only one person who could teach you that summoning contract." Tsunade accused, staring Naruto dead in the eye. Naruto, on his part, did not back down. "That's how you've been getting so good. That's where you've been running off in secret too. To receive training from him."

"So what if I have? He's the only family I have left." Naruto snapped.

"What about Karin? She's family and she is an orphan too." Tsunade pointed out.

"She didn't have a demon inside her!" Naruto hissed, lest they be overheard. "So as far as I'm concerned, Pervy Sage is my only family."

"Some family." Tsunade said.

"Hey! My parents named him my godfather. He became my father after my parents died and he will remain so. And I don't care what you or anyone else thinks about him." Naruto said firmly.

"Kid, the Third Hokage raised you more than your godfather did. I raised you more than he did. He's bad news."

"I don't care." Naruto said defiantly.

Tsunade just sighed. "Listen brat. No one this side of the world will care about it, but when word gets back home that you are being trained by him... Well you know better than anyone that your reputation is bad enough as it is."

"And like I said, I don't care what anybody thinks. They wanna give me shit about who I hang around with, fine. I'll just leave like he did."

"And leave behind Sakura?" Tsunade asked.

Naruto's face softened before looking away. "I'm sure she would understand if I left..."

"Don't make empty threats, brat. It's beneath you." Tsunade said, knowing that Naruto was just trying to argue for the sake of arguing. They both knew how high up Sakura was on his totem pole. "Just be careful. Any shit that rolls down here from the village, Sakura will be right there to bear it with you. So, don't give them anymore dung to throw."

"Why do you care so much?" Naruto asked.

"Why indeed?!" Tsunade growled as she turned to leave, privately remembering a similar argument she once had with her younger brother. "You wanna know something? When I took her under my wing, you were the constant subject of conversation. Not her parents, not Ino, you."

"Yeah, because we're best friends. We've been best friends since the first grade." Naruto said.

"Is that so?" Tsunade said, sounding not as convinced as when Sakura had told her that same line.

Tsunade turned away. Better for the two of them to figure it out on their own for her to interfere. _'Stupid young love.'_

"I'm headed back. That reporter lady makes me want to take a shower. Don't be late to dinner." Tsunade ordered.

"Yeah, okay. I just have to check something." Naruto said as he looked behind him ever so slightly. "Our conversation wasn't very private."

"I noticed. Try not to rough him up too bad. It'll be a whole lot of pain in my ass otherwise." Tsunade said before she vanished in a whirl of leaves.

"I know you're there. Come out, now." Naruto demanded as he secretly held a Kunai in his hand.

A few seconds later, that Potter kid stepped out from behind the corner. Giving Naruto flashbacks of a certain Hyuga from back in the day.

"Um...hi." Harry said sheepishly.

"Harry? Why were you eavesdropping?" Naruto demanded.

"I wasn't...exactly. I was headed this way, and you two didn't sound like you wanted to be interrupted." Harry tried to explain.

"What all did you hear?" Naruto asked hesitantly as he put his Kunai away.

"Nothing important." Harry reassured. Naruto just stared at him intently, like he could see right through him.

"You're gonna have to do better than that if you want to lie to a ninja."

"I wasn't lying-"

"Come on, Harry...I can see right through you. Come on, you can tell me." Naruto urged.

Harry sighed, try as he might, he actually believed Naruto. There was something about his eyes that reassured Harry. They were familiar. He saw them every time he looked in the mirror.

"I... overheard you talking about your godfather. Apparently, he isn't well liked back where you come from."

"Oh that...that's because...well...let's just say he's done some questionable things in the past."

"Questionable things? Like what?" Harry pried.

"Um...well, nothing terrible, depending on who you ask. Many women would say otherwise."

"I see..." Harry said, a little weirded out by what could be questionably terrible.

"He's been training me though. In secret, of course. It's still nice just to be taught by family, ya know?"

"I wouldn't know. I was raised by my Aunt and Uncle who hate me."

"Hate you? They're your family. How can they hate you?" Naruto asked astonished.

"They're muggles. And generally nasty people all around. So, they hate all kinds of magic, which I happen to possess." Harry said.

"Oh come on, how bad can they be?" Naruto asked.

"I spent 11 years of my life as their servant basically and my bedroom was a cupboard under the stairs, so you tell me."

"What? What kind of shit is that?" Naruto exclaimed.

"Exactly what I told you."

"And you're parents. Where are they?" Naruto asked.

"They were killed when I was a baby."

"Damn, you too?"

"Hang on...your parents were killed?" Harry asked.

"Yeah. There was this demon attack on my village the day I was born. My parents died fighting that night, trying to protect the village." Naruto said.

"Bloody hell..." Harry said in horror.

"Yeah… Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki."

"You took your mum's name?"

"Didn't have a choice. The 3rd Hokage gave me her name for my own protection."

"How come?" Harry asked.

"I'd rather not say."

"My parents died protecting me from Lord Voldemort. I was one-year-old." Harry said without thinking. It was so weird telling someone else this story. Usually everyone else already knew this story better than him.

"Volde...what? Who is he?" Naruto asked.

' _ **Voldemort?!'**_ Naruto's demon exclaimed inside his mind.

' _What do you want now, Fox? I'm in the middle of something.'_ Naruto thought.

' _ **Brat, Voldemort is a powerful sorcerer. He killed thousands in his wake. His deeds were so terrible that even we demons in the east got word of him.'**_

' _No way.'_ Naruto thought.

' _ **Yes. Supposedly he was killed. If the rumors are true, the boy standing before you is the one who killed him.'**_

"He was this really evil wizard who terrorized the wizarding world before I was even born. I'm surprised that you've never heard of him. Usually everyone I meet knows more about him than I do." Harry said, Naruto only just paid attention in time.

"You killed him." Naruto said absentmindedly.

"That's what everyone says. But I can't remember how." Harry admitted. "Supposedly I got hit with one of Voldemort's spells, but it backfired. He got killed and I got this scar." Harry said as he moved his hair back to show his famous lightning bolt scar.

"That's...wow..." Naruto was going to say awesome, but that felt like saying that his seal that trapped the demon fox inside of him was cool.

"Yeah...did you get your scars from the night the demon attacked?" Harry asked.

"Scars?"

"You know." Harry traced three fingers over his left cheek.

"Oh. Yeah, I guess so. I've always had them. I thought they were birthmarks, but they could be scars." Naruto said, suddenly feeling self-conscious about his cheeks. Then his thoughts inevitably turned elsewhere.

"Heh." Naruto chuckled.

"What?" Harry asked.

"You know what this means?"

"No, not really."

"We're scar buddies." Naruto smirked.

Harry blinked. "Scar buddies?"

"Yeah. We've both got face scars. We're scar buddies." Naruto smirked as he pat Harry on the back.

"I...guess so." Harry said, a little confused as to what Naruto meant. But he was pretty sure that he just made a friend.

"I like you, Harry. We should hang out." Naruto decided.

"How about we get some dinner first?" Harry suggested.

"Now you're talking! I'm starved." Naruto declared.

Over in the Dining Hall, dinner was fully underway. Each of the four guest schools were seated at one of the four respective house tables. The Durmstrang kids sat with Slytherin, the Beauxbatons students sat down at the Ravenclaw table, the Kame students were seated at the Hufflepuff table, and the Konoha students were seated with the Gryffindors. Sakura herself was on the far end of the table along with the rest of the Konoha, a few seats away from any of the Hogwarts kids. With the exception of Sasuke's little group, who always seemed to have one or two female admirers checking him out.

Sakura sat next to Ino and Kiba, the latter of whom was busy non-to-subtly passing table scraps to Akamaru while Sakura and Ino were busy chatting.

"I don't have a crush on him, Pig. How many times do I have to tell you this." Sakura hissed, getting annoyed with her friends constant pestering of her love life.

"Fine, whatever. Just tell me that again when the Yule Ball comes around." Ino shrugged.

"Ball? What Ball? I wasn't told this." Sakura asked.

"Forehead, everyone was told about this. Why do you think we were told to bring dresses?" Ino pointed out.

"Shit, that's right...with everything going on, it slipped my mind." Sakura cursed. That was a majorly important event during this tournament. How could she forget?

"And I bet you still haven't asked anyone yet, have you?"

"No, I haven't." Sakura scoffed.

"Well, you better get on it. I'm going with Sai, Hinata is probably going to ask Naruto, and Tenten is more than likely to go with Neji. That leaves Choji, Shikamaru, Kiba, Shino and Lee. Not counting Juugo, Sasuke and Suigetsu."

"I see..." Sakura said. "So… Read any good books lately?" She said, desperate to change the subject.

"Oh, for Sage's sake, Forehead. Can't you just give in and talk about guys with me?" Ino whined.

"No. That's all we ever talk about. I want to talk about something different." Sakura said.

"But the Beauxbaton boys look so handsome and I wanna talk about the Kame students bench pressing five logs at once." Ino whined.

"Alright, fine." Sakura sighed. "I'll relent with you on the Kame students. That one guy, I think his name was Gohan, he's hot. I'll give you that."

"Thank you." Ino sighed. "Yeah he's kinda hot. But I was talking about that other beefcake. What was his name. With the long blond hair?"

"I don't know his name. But I hear he's a real jerk."

"Nah, he strikes me more as a bad boy."

"If you say so. I still can't believe that Videl girl made Lady Tsunade seem like a joke when she body slammed her."

Ino spit out her water. "She WHAT?!"

"You didn't hear? Lady Tsunade tried to punch Videl for calling her old and she grabbed her arm and slammed her into the ground like it was nothing."

Ino turned around to view the Kame students chatting and eating, having found a new respect for their training.

"Sage of Six Paths..." Ino gasped.

"Seriously. Makes you wonder if we are completely outclassed." Sakura said.

"If one girl can do that to a Sannin...man, I couldn't imagine what they are really capable of."

"I just hope that Naruto will be okay if he has to face her in the 1st task." Sakura said.

"Speaking of which, is that Naruto with that Potter kid?" Ino asked.

"What?" Sakura asked before looking towards the door

Sure enough, Naruto was walking in with that Harry kid close by.

The two of them appeared to joking around like they were too old buddies meeting up after so long.

"Isn't that the other Hogwarts champion?" Ino asked.

"Yeah it is." Sakura smiled. "Leave it to Naruto to make unexpected friends."

"So long as it's not in our village." Kiba muttered.

"Is it me or are the other tables giving the two of them some looks?" Choji pointed out.

"What do you mean?" Ino asked.

"Well just look at them." Shikamaru said, pointing to all the tables that weren't Gryffindor. A lot of kids from Hogwarts were giving the two of them stink eyes, and occasionally flashing these nasty green buttons at the two of them. Sakura had to squint to see the words POTTER STINKS on a nearby Hufflepuff's badge, which quickly warped into saying SUPPORT CEDRIC DIGGORY, THE TRUE HOGWARTS CHAMPION.

"What the hell is wrong with these people?" Sakura hissed.

"They think Harry cheated." Shikamaru spoke. "Which given the circumstances, I don't blame them in the slightest."

"Well there was only supposed to be one champion from each school. Who's to say that he didn't cheat?" Kiba said as he fed Akamaru a sausage.

"Lady Tsunade said that he didn't. And her word should be good enough for you." Tenten spoke.

Whatever the case, Sakura thought, the two of them seemed to be getting along so well that it hardly mattered to Sakura. So long as Naruto was happy.

"Isn't he sitting down too early?" Sai pointed out as Naruto sat down with a couple of Gryffindors.

"Why?" Ino asked.

"What is that idiot doing?" Sakura snapped.

Naruto was currently letting Harry introduce him to his best friend who was still talking to him.

Naruto found himself standing in front of a girl the same age as Harry with curly brown hair and more open books surrounding her than food at the feast.

"Hi, you must be Hermione. I'm Naruto."

"I am. Pleasure to meet you." Hermione said as she extended out her hand, looking a little unsure of herself.

"Is that rotisserie chicken? I am starving." Naruto said as he sat down and helped himself.

"Not to be rude, but how come you're over here instead of with your school?" Hermione asked, retracting her hand.

"Oh, they won't mind. I'm just hanging out with my new buddy Harry." Naruto said as he grabbed himself a piping hot chicken leg.

"He also said that he would let me join him on a couple of his classes. I figured what the heck? When in England, do as the English do." Naruto said excitedly with chicken in his mouth.

"Um...right. Well, the invitation to join our classes is for all guest school students." Hermione pointed out.

"Yeah, I don't think any of my classmates have shown an interest. At least not as far as I've seen." Naruto said. "We ninja get most of our schooling done by the time we are 12. Everything after that is going on missions."

"Missions?" Harry asked.

"Yeah. People and governments ask us for protection or dealing with some bad guys. Sometimes we have to spy on some people or steal some stuff back. Typical soldier things." Naruto said.

"At such a young age? That's completely barbaric!" Hermione exclaimed.

"I mean we start us with small jobs." Naruto defended. "1st year Genin are usually stuck doing odd jobs around the village. The most action they'll ever see is escorting some merchant and protecting him from highway bandits and rowdy drunks."

"So, like an Auror?" Harry asked.

"Auror?" Naruto asked.

"Dark wizard catchers. Our Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor is one. Professor Moody." Harry said.

"No way. I'd love to take a class with him. See how you wizards fight." Naruto said.

"We really don't do much in the line of fighting per se." Hermione said.

"What? Then how do you defend yourselves?"

"You'll just have to see for yourself." Hermione said simply.

"Definitely." Naruto said as he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. A pink haired girl with her fists digging into her hips. "Hey, Sakura-chan."

"Don't 'hey' me. Why are you over here?"

"Oh I was just getting to know my new buddy Harry and his friends." Naruto said. "Come on, sit down."

"If you weren't aware, you and Harry are getting a lot of nasty stares." Sakura pointed out.

"We are?" Naruto asked as he sat down to see a lot of backs turned away from him. Save for a group of Slytherin 4th years.

"You did when you came in." Sakura added.

"Because they think Harry cheated. But he didn't." Hermione spoke.

"Is it about the whole 2nd Hogwarts champion thing?" Naruto asked.

"That does contribute to it, but that's not the real reason. Everyone thinks Harry cheated to get in the tournament." Hermione said.

"But I didn't!" Harry insisted. "I don't even want to be in the damn tournament."

"Not to mention, you're underage." Sakura reminded.

"So then how did you get chosen?" Naruto asked.

"I don't know..." Harry sighed, so tired of having to repeat himself.

"Was it you?" Naruto asked Hermione.

"Naruto, she couldn't have done it either." Sakura spoke.

"I'm a fourth year like Harry." Hermione stated.

"So who would want you in the tournament? Who would want to go through all that trouble?" Naruto asked.

"I don't know..." Harry admitted.

"We hope that it was a prank." Hermione said, even if she didn't sound convinced with herself at all.

"Hey, I'm a master at pulling pranks. This is not a prank." Naruto stated seriously.

"He's not lying." Sakura sighed.

"I'm sorry, what was that, we hear?" Came an older student's voice as he and his identical red-headed brother scooched in between Naruto and Sakura.

"Hermione, you're the brains of the outfit. What's all this then? Some foreigner coming to our school and declaring himself the prank master? I must be hearing things. George, am I hearing things?"

"Nope, you heard right, Fred." George nodded.

"Can we help you two?" Sakura asked.

"I'm Fred."

"And I'm Gorge."

"We're the prank masters of Hogwarts." They both said in sync.

"At your service." Fred finished.

Naruto smirked. "I'm Naruto. And this is Sakura, my teammate." Naruto said, motioning to his partner.

"I thought she was your girlfriend, from what I've heard." Hermione said.

"No, I'm not." Sakura said firmly.

Naruto had a look of dejection that no one noticed.

"Sorry, I shouldn't have assumed." Hermione said.

"What did you hear exactly?" Sakura asked as she glared at Naruto.

"I'm sure it's just a rumor, but someone in our house said they caught you two snogging in the hallway the other day." Hermione said.

Sakura gave a look of confusion. "Snogging?"

"It means making out." Fred snickered.

"What?!" Sakura shrieked. "No, we don't kiss each other! Ewww! And we haven't even been inside the halls that much. Someone must be using the transformation jutsu."

"I have a feeling I know who..." Naruto growled as he locked a death glare at Sasuke.

Sakura followed his gaze. "Sasuke? Why would he do something like that?"

"Because...I don't know, because he's a jerk." Naruto said.

Sakura grit her teeth. "So, he drags me into this?!" She seethed. "What a piece of shit..."

"If you wanna get back at him." Fred said.

"We can offer you our services." George added.

"Free of charge." Fred and George offered.

Sakura's glare turned into an evil smirk. "I got a plan..."

Naruto couldn't help but smile at hearing Sakura call Sasuke a piece of shit. And on top of that he only saw that look in her eye when she had thought up a truly devious plan that could put Naruto's own pranks to shame.

"I love that look in your eye." Fred smirked.

"A woman after my own heart." George added.

"Have you got a date to the Yule ball?" Fred asked.

"No, I don't and I'm not looking for one right now." Sakura stated

"So what's your plan?" Naruto asked.

"You two. Is there a spell to conjure up a massive amount of spiders?" Sakura asked the Weasley twins.

"Okay, now I'm gonna have to ask you formally to the dance." George smirked.

The remainder of dinner was spent in hushed whispers as the six of them planned out Sakura's revenge prank. Hermione remained only tangentially involved, insisting that she had studying to do and Harry insisted on letting her get on with it. By nightfall, things seemed all planned out and there was nothing left to do except for returning to their beds.

At the Kame camp, Videl was up late and running through her forms, making sure not to get rusty. Unknown to her, Gohan was watching her as he was approaching her.

"Your right jab is a little sloppy." Gohan said without thinking.

"I didn't ask you, now did I?" Videl snapped.

"I'm sorry, it's just...it's so glaring." Gohan tried to apologize.

"Glaring?" Videl scowled.

"Ah yeah. Anyone could see it. From the outside, I mean."

"What is it that you want, Gohan? If it's nothing important than leave me alone." Videl spat.

"Why are you so angry with me? We used to be such good friends. We've known each other for years." Gohan asked.

"You lied to me, that's why!" Videl spat.

"Huh? I lied? About what?" Gohan asked in confusion.

"You lied to me when you told me you were human like me. You kept your heritage from me. You made me think you were just as normal as anyone else! I had to find out for myself that you were one of those...those...MONSTERS!" Videl shouted angrily. "If you would have just been upfront and honest with me, I would have accepted you as you are. But since you lied to me and you're playing the innocent card with me, why should we be friends anymore? Friends. Don't. Lie. To each other!"

Gohan looked down, ashamed of himself and hurt by Videl's harsh words. He never meant to lie to her and he hoped that she would understand that. "Videl...I'm sorry. I never meant for things to be this way..."

"Well too bad. You're a few years too late. Now leave me alone." Videl turned away in a huff.

"Is there anything I can do to make this up to you?" Gohan asked sincerely.

Videl sighed. "No there isn't."

"Oh...I really am sorry..."

"Yeah, well...sorry won't cut it now. I hate being lied to. If you were just honest with me from the start, I wouldn't have thought twice about you being what you are. But since you waited so long to apologize, I don't think I can find it in me to forgive you. I'm sorry." Videl said before getting back to her training.

"I really want to make things right...what if...I took you to the Yule Ball?" Gohan asked, hoping that would get her to come around.

"I said just leave me alone!" Videl snapped.

Gohan felt his entire world shatter. He really did want to make it up to her, but it was evident that she wanted nothing more to do with him. He turned around to walk away. "I'm sorry..." He said softly before walking away in sadness and shame.

Videl grit her fists and flew away to get away from Gohan faster. Once she found a suitably sized tree at the edge of the forbidden forest she went to town on her newest punching bag. How dare that jerk try to apologize after all this time and expect her to just forgive him? Was he kidding? Was he messing with her? Expecting her to forgive him after one overdo apology? Videl's next punch split the tree right down the middle. So, she moved on to a tree deeper in the forest.

Little did she know that there was a pair of eyes watching her.

Back with the Leaf Shinobi, Naruto and Sakura said goodbye to their four new friends from Hogwarts. Sakura's trap was set and all there was left to do was to hit the hay.

"Man, Sakura-chan. I don't think even I could have come up with that." Naruto grinned.

Sakura giggled. "Thank you, Naruto. I just wish I could be there to see it in person."

"Well, I'll tell you all about it." Naruto offered.

"Oh, please do! I would love to see the look on his face." Sakura grinned.

"Can do, Sakura-chan!" Naruto saluted while Sakura let out a cute yawn.

"Well...I'm gonna go to bed..." Sakura said sleepily.

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea." Naruto said, catching Sakura's yawn.

In Sakura's drowsy state of mind, she stumbled over her foot and lost her balance. Naruto was quick to catch her and found herself in his embrace. Her mind started racing as she felt her chest and cheeks warm up before looking into his eyes. Those eyes of piercing blue, they seemed to cast a spell on her, making her freeze

"Whoa, you okay?" Naruto asked, holding her steady. For the first time in a long time, Sakura began to appreciate just how much taller Naruto was compared to her.

Sakura was snapped out of her daze, regaining her focus. "Y-yeah...I'm fine...just really tired is all."

"I'll say. I think you had too much roast beef. That stuff'll knock you right out."

"Yeah..." Sakura said as she pulled away. "That must be it."

"Well, goodnight Sakura-chan." Naruto smiled.

"Yeah, you too." Sakura smiled before running into the house.

 _'Huh...maybe she needed to use the bathroom.'_ Naruto mused before heading inside.

Naruto headed to the second floor where the boys were all sleeping. He opened the sliding doors to the large open room made of bamboo tiles with nothing but sleeping bags to cover the floor. Sensing no one else in the room with him, Naruto decided just to turn in. No sooner had his head hit his pillow that the sliding doors opened again and the smell of dog hit the room.

"Naruto...Naruto!" Kiba hissed in the dark, not wanting to wake anyone up that he didn't have to.

"What, Dog Breath? I'm tired..." Naruto yawned.

"You won't be when I tell you the good news. I just found out about your first task." Kiba hissed.

That perked Naruto up. "What is it?"

"Come on, you gotta see it to believe it." Kiba said as he made his way over to the window facing Hogwarts castle. Naruto got out of bed and followed Kiba.

The two of them jumped out of window into the black forest. Akamaru quickly joined them leaping from tree branch to tree branch. His white fur being Naruto's only visual guide through some of the thicker parts of the forest. Naruto always found it exhilarating to leap from branch to branch. Feeling the cool evening air blowing through his hair, feeling his legs pump against the tree branches and relax as they all hung in the air before reaching the next branch. Half the time you felt like you were flying.

Five minutes later, just when Naruto was seriously starting to consider if Kiba was having a laugh at his expense, did Naruto hear it. An unearthly roar that made the trees themselves quiver in fear.

Kiba and Naruto immediately landed on the first sturdy branch they could find and surveyed the situation. "What the Hell was that?" Naruto whispered so quietly that only Kiba's chakra enhanced ears could pick it up.

"Your first task." Kiba spoke.

"What?" Naruto asked before a jet of blue and orange flames split the darkness covering the forest. Now Naruto began to notice the silhouettes standing around the big, thrashing serpent like creatures. Their wings beating against their cages, sending the metal rattling over the cries of the men on the ground.

"Are those...?" Naruto whispered.

"Yeah...dragons" Kiba nodded.

Akamaru whimpered when two more of the dragons began to shoot flames. Their breath illuminated the whole field, allowing Naruto to count six in total. All of them fully grown and all of them looking mad as Hell.

Naruto gulped. "Oh...joy..."

"Yeah. Aren't fighting dragons considered an A-class mission?" Kiba asked.

"S-class..."

"Shit. Glad I told you beforehand. Would you believe that I just ran into this while walking Akamaru?" Kiba said, trying to laugh the whole thing off, but found that Naruto looked in no mood to be laughing. He was too busy watching those ten thousand pounds of steel flesh and flames slam against their cages. Men in robes on the ground scrambled into their various positions, trying to maintain order against the terrifying beasts. One dragon even raised its wings and bolt of lightning came crashing down from on high.

"Here I thought we'd have to fight in hand to hand combat with the other schools. But this is worse..."

"We need to go tell the rest of the guys. Maybe they'll know what to do." Kiba suggested.

"Aren't I supposed to figure things out for myself?" Naruto asked. "You guys helping me out specifically with this task is cheating?"

"Yeah, fuck that. We're ninjas. We stand alone together." Kiba stated, bringing a smile to Naruto's face.

Akamaru gave a quick ruff in agreement and the trio headed back to their castle.

"Dragons?" Shikamaru repeated in front of the whole of the Konoha 12.

"We both saw them with our own eyes." Naruto stated seriously.

"Six dragons." Kiba added.

"One for each champion." Shino spoke.

"That's what we're thinking." Naruto nodded.

"I have to assume that the next tasks are going to be just as dangerous as this one, if not more so." Shikamaru mused.

"Well can't we focus on the first one in front of us?" Ino scolded.

"I am. I'm just thinking out loud." Shikamaru said.

"Maybe you have to fight off the dragons together with the other champions." Lee suggested. "Show off that youthful teamwork."

"This isn't a competition for teamwork, Lee. Every champion is fighting for themselves, not together." Neji stated.

"Exactly. It would be the last thing anyone suspects." Lee said.

"Neji is right, Lee." Naruto stated. "There will be no teamwork here."

"Okay, just a suggestion." Lee said sheepishly.

"They can't seriously expect Naruto-kun to fight a dragon by himself, do they?" Hinata asked nervously.

"He has to. By law of the Goblet of Fire, he has to serve as our champion." Shikamaru stated.

"It's bullshit." Sakura spat.

"I think what Hinata meant was they can't expect Naruto to beat a Dragon." Tenten said. "Maybe you just have to survive a Dragon attack for a certain amount of time."

"It's still bullshit. They expect him to risk his life just for some task?"

"He volunteered, didn't he? We all did." Shikamaru said. "We came all the way here and put our names in the goblet. We knew the risks and they are no different from any mission we've ever been assigned.

Sakura wanted to snap back but she couldn't. Shikamaru had her. "It's still unfair. A dragon of all things."

"They wouldn't assign a task that was impossible." Shikamaru said. Then his eyes shined like a lightbulb. "What if he is supposed to retrieve something? Something that the dragon is guarding?"

"Like a snatch and run mission?" Naruto asked.

"Exactly. European Dragons are famous for guarding treasure. This was historically a European tournament. It would make sense." Shikamaru said.

"So if that's what this challenge is supposed to be, then how is he supposed to do that?" Sakura asked.

"That's the trick, isn't it?" Shikamaru asked.

Sakura sighed heavily before looking at Naruto. "Just...be careful."

"You know me, Sakura-chan, I'm mister safety." Naruto said, reassuringly.

"Sometimes I wonder." Sakura mused, voicing everyone's thoughts.

Naruto chuckled as he stood up. "I'm gonna take a quick walk. Stretch my legs. Excuse me." He said quickly. Sakura watched Naruto walk away, followed by everyone else except herself and Ino.

"God he's so reckless...what am I going to do with him?"

"Marry him if you don't end up killing him." Ino muttered to herself.

"W-what?!" Sakura sputtered.

"Nothing." Ino said innocently.

"Ino, I told you before. I don't like him like that." Sakura said firmly.

"So you say." Ino said.

As that argument played out, Naruto made his way as deep into the forest as he felt safe from being overheard.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGHHHHHH!" Naruto screamed out into the night sky, clutching his locks in his fists.

A dragon, a freaking dragon! He was expected to fight a dragon! How was he supposed to do that? With his Shadow Clones? Their flame breath would roast his clones just by burning near them. His Rasengan? Their scales were magical and damn near impervious to physical damage. Summoning? A dragon would tear Chief Gamabunta to pieces. His wind jutsus might as well be puff of air against those dragon scales. And his genjutsu was laughable to even consider. He was screwed! What was he supposed to do?

"Keeping a calm head there, loser?" A familiar and annoying voice said.

Naruto looked over to find himself once again surrounded by his four least favorite ninjas. Suigetsu (who had spoken), Juugo (looking like a disinterested, burly scarecrow as usual), Karin who was eagerly anticipating Sasuke ripping into Naruto, and the man of every hour, Sasuke.

"What do you idiots want." Naruto growled.

"My my, such a tone for someone in over his head." Suigetsu sniggered.

"You broke our agreement, Dobe." Sasuke said.

"So what?" Naruto snapped. "Like Hell I was going to add to your already overinflated ego."

Sasuke didn't respond. Naruto blinked and the next thing he knew he was receiving a spinning kick to the face, knocking him over to the nearest tree and felt his throat being shoved back into the bark.

"It's not ego, Dobe. It's fact. I am the best ninja of our generation and you are the dead last idiot who scraps by because of the endurance granted to you by the Nine-Tails." Sasuke spat, his elbow digging into Naruto's collarbone. "I offered you a way out. Save you some embarrassment in front of your precious keeper, Sakura. But now you've gone and done a stupid thing like get yourself selected champion. So, you're gonna fix this..."

"Fuck you...I ain't fixing shit." Naruto spat. "For the record, I didn't put my name in."

"Is that right? So, it's just dumb luck you got in. It fits, it's how you've made it through life so far. But you are gonna fix this. You're going to go to the judges and BEG THEM to let you switch places with me. If you can't even do that, then forfeit so that I don't have to waste my time stuck here for a year." Sasuke ordered. "Or maybe I should just ask Sakura out?"

Naruto went quiet. His eyes flashed with fear as he imagined Sakura kissing Sasuke and stop hanging out with him all together. He would be alone again. And with Sakura gone all his other friends would slowly leave him too. Without Sakura to see the best in him past all the weirdness and executrices. He saw Sakura, smiling her beautiful smile. Cheering the loudest for him after he was chosen to be the Konoha Champion. Filling his heart with confidence. Like he wasn't a hated monster or a weirdo. She saw him for him.

Naruto looked at Sasuke straight in the eyes. All his childish rage subsided, replaced with something new. Confidence.

Sasuke felt his own power over the Dobe falter. Naruto had never looked at him like that before.

"You know what, Teme? You ask Sakura-chan out. You ask her out and you tell her about my feelings for her. I'll just deny them and she'll believe me over you. Her best friend over the guy she thinks is a piece of shit! And you know something else? I couldn't switch with you even if I wanted to! So no matter what, you're stuck here for the next 8 months with nothing to do besides watch this dead last win the whole damn Quint-wizard cup for Konoha!" Naruto shouted for all the heavens to hear.

Naruto shoved Sasuke off of him. The Uchiha offered little resistance. This new Naruto was different.

"But hey, thanks for the pep-talk. I needed it." Naruto said before taking off back towards the house.

"This isn't over, Dobe." Sasuke snapped

"It's over. Face it, you lost, Teme. You lost to the dead last of our generation. Have fun nursing your wounded pride." Naruto called out as he ran back to the house.

Unknown to either of them. Behind a nearby bush, a certain pineapple haired genius was giving a knowing smirk at a gasping pink haired kunoichi as she held her hand over her mouth.

* * *

 **Author's Note from Panda: Please review, it makes us feel all giddy inside when you do.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note from Panda: Please stand for a special omake in honor of a great man.**

In the studio, things were hectic as usual. Once again, the Konoha Shinobi and the Z-Fighters were getting set to script yet another story that Cmartin and Panda thought up and Sakura was complaining about her pay.

"Bullshit you've got bills. You have main character status on 13 of our stories between this studio and my private works. Don't tell me you are just scraping by." Samuraipanda85 said.

"Well Jesus Christ! The way Naruto eats, its a wonder that we can even keep the cable paid!"

"Preaching to the coir, sister..." Videl deadpanned, giving Gohan the stink eye.

"Well that sounds like a marriage issue more than anything related to my problems." Panda said.

"Hey, what a minute...where's the other writer?" Krillen asked.

"Cmartin? He's at home right now." Panda said as an assistant with long brown hair as smooth as silk and terribly delicious tight jeans came up behind him.

"Here is bradw316's beta read for the next few chapters of Quint Wizard." She said softly, holding up a pair of scripts.

"Thank you, Dona. Put them on my desk, I'll see them later." Panda said.

"Oh, so he's taking a break while we're all busting our asses." Sakura huffed.

Panda stopped going over his notes and stared at his employee. "For your information, his grandfather just died. The last grandparent he had. So let's have a little compassion, huh?"

At that, everyone gasped and stared in sympathy at the empty seat belonging to Cmartin.

"Oh no..." Hinata breathed out sadly.

"Damn...I knew his health wasn't good but..." Videl said sympathetically.

"Yeah, so on top of everything else going on in Cmartin's life. He's got that." Panda said. He sighed, needing something to do to satisfy his ADD. He got up and decided to make some coffee from the Keurig.

"Shit...if only there was something I could've done..." Sakura said sadly, now ashamed of her attitude.

"There wasn't anything you could have done." King Kai said. "He was sick with Parkinson's disease and it was at the end stages."

"Yet, he lived a long and happy life with a distinguished career." Baal spoke up.

"What did he do?" Riker asked.

"In life, he was a Petty Officer in the US Navy. He served on the USS Grenedier, the USS Jack, The USS Quillback and was temporarily stationed on the USS Enterprise. He also served as a Connecticut State Police Officer, had 3 children, 6 grandchildren and two great grandchildren. Married to only one woman for well over 50 years. It's a shame a man like him could die with such indignity and suffering."

"He is still receiving full military honors, right?" Naruto asked.

"Yes. He is to be honored on the USS Nautilus." Baal assured.

"The first nuclear powered submarine..." Riker said in amazement.

"Right you are, Number One." Picard said. "A true shame he passed, but to have such honors as to serve on the Enterprise and to be honored on the Nautilus is truly something."

"I wish I could have met him." Sakura said.

"He was a man unlike any other." They heard a voice behind them. Everyone turned around to see their other boss looking like his life was just torn to pieces.

"Cmartin, I thought we agreed you would take some time off. I've got everything under control." Panda said.

"I can't sit around and mope all the time. He was suffering in his final moments and now he's at peace."

"I see. That is great to hear. No doubt your grandfather would be proud of you for that." Panda said.

"Yeah...he's in a better place, probably driving around in his 53 Mercury. He loved his Mercury's..."

"He definitely is." Panda smiled as he patted Cmartin on the back.

"I'll be okay..." Cmartin said before looking up at all his cast employee's. "We got work to do. So let's get to it."

"You heard the man, everyone back to work!" Panda called out.

 **Author's Note from Panda: This chapter is dedicated to Cmartin's grandfather. Richard Ward Martin. Retired US Navy Petty Officer, retired CT State Police. May he rest in peace.**

 **We hope you enjoy the chapter.**

* * *

Chapter 4 - Unforgivable Curses and Lies

The next morning, the Konoha ninjas all awoke to an ear-splitting scream coming from the shower. They all ran as fast as they could to see if one of the girls was under attack. What they found instead was Sasuke swatting at a patch of living breathing black moss that seemed to be growing at an alarming rate from out of the shower head. Except it wasn't moss. It was a swarm of black spiders.

"GET THEM OFF! GET THEM OFF!" Sasuke screamed as the others all laughed hysterically.

"What's going on?" Lady Tsunade shouted as she pushed her way through the crowd of pajama wearing boys. Tsunade then got a full view of Sasuke covered in a mess of spiders.

"Oh geez. Shino, can you order those spiders off of him?" Tsunade asked.

Shino nodded as he tried to rope in the rogue swarm of spider's.

"Sasuke-kun!" Karin shrieked as she broke through the crowd, followed by the rest of the girls.

Sakura immediately saw Sasuke in his current state and burst out laughing. Karin tried to hold Sasuke in order to comfort him and ended up just slipping on the wet shower floor. Sakura was laughing so hard that she had tears coming out of her eyes. The others were in the same boat.

"God damn it." Suigetsu said as he decided that Shino wasn't working fast enough and decided to douse Sasuke in water to clear away the bugs.

"Thank you, Suigetsu." Tsunade said as she wrapped a towel around a hyperventilating Sasuke.

"I don't know who is the mastermind behind this prank is, _Naruto,_ but I think that preying on the boy's extreme fear of spiders might be pushing it." Tsunade said to all of them.

 _'He deserved it.'_ Sakura thought sourly.

"Why am I always to blame?" Naruto asked, offended.

"Because you're the one who painted all the Hokage faces in broad daylight. You've got a rep." Tsunade stated.

"Well, it wasn't him this time. It was me." Sakura admitted without hesitation.

Tsunade looked at Sakura in confusion. "Sakura, is this true? You aren't just covering for Naruto?"

"No, I'm not. This was 100% my doing and he deserves nothing less after the crap he pulled." Sakura said sourly.

"Be that as it may. You will scrub the showers later today. No jutsus of any kind. Only elbow grease." Tsunade ordered.

"Whatever. It was worth it." Sakura scoffed.

"Then you won't mind if I make you do it every day for a week?" Tsunade asked.

"No, I-" Sakura tried to retort before Naruto clamped her mouth shut with his hand.

"You might want to stop while you're ahead. She'll just keep extending it." Naruto whispered to her.

"For once, Naruto is the smart one." Tsunade mused.

"Live and learn." Naruto chuckled.

Sakura sighed through her nostrils before nodding. Leave it to him to always look out for her when her stubborn side took over. Naruto released her and she sighed in exasperation. "A week won't be necessary, Lady Tsunade."

"I'll decide if it's necessary. One week starting now, and I'll hear no more about this." Tsunade stated. "The rest of you, get to training. Breakfast is in one hour."

"So... many...spiders..." Sasuke moaned shakily.

"Come on, brat. Get up." Tsunade said as she hoisted Sasuke to his feet. "You're okay. They're gone now."

Everyone else filed out of the shower and back to their rooms to get dressed. Karin led Sasuke out of the shower to calm him down while Sakura and Tsunade remained.

"Well, you best get started." Tsunade spoke.

"Wait..." Sakura spoke up. "There is something you need to know. You can confirm this with Shikamaru as he was with me last night."

"What is that?"

"About what Sasuke has been planning. He's been deceiving us from the start." Sakura said seriously.

* * *

At the Kame camp, Videl was already up and training. She was still pissed from last night on how Gohan approached her. Videl was furious. She was destroying any tree or rock that was unfortunate enough to be in her way. But her thoughts where cut short when a kunoichi fell out of the sky on top of her. The two girls collapsed to the ground.

"Ow..." Ino whined.

"What the Hell?! Can't I train in..." Videl stopped herself when she recognized the girl on top of her. "Wait, you're one of the ninja girls...what was your name?"

"Ino." She grunted as she stood up.

"What the hell happened?" Videl asked.

"Training our champion, but that idiot threw me over his shoulder and sent me sailing here." Ino said as she dusted off her skirt.

"Ah...well, I'm just trying to vent from what happened last night."

"Oh..." Ino said, surprised by her openness. "Mind if I ask what's wrong?"

"Gohan! He's so goddammed annoying. He lied to me about what he really is and kept it a secret from me for our entire childhood. It wasn't until 7 years ago that I found out what he actually was and he waits till now to apologize to me! What kind of a friend is that?! Then...then he has the balls to ask me to the dance!" Videl ranted, needing to get this off her chest.

 _'Oh sweet Sage, just when my faith wavers, you provide this gift.'_ Ino thought before taking a deep breath. "That complete jerk." Ino said.

"Exactly! If it wasn't for the fact that he's 20 times stronger than me, I'd deck him."

"I'd deck him either way. Who does he think he is? Just because he is stronger he gets to play with your feelings like that?"

"Well...I don't think he did it intentionally...but it still hurt."

"What makes you say that?" Ino asked.

"He was trying to protect his family's identity...more or less. But he still could have been honest with me about it. We practically grew up together."

"Would you trust him with that kind of secret? If you were his age?"

"W-well...I mean...no, I guess not..." Videl admitted shamefully.

"So, you really don't have a reason to be upset with him. From the sounds of it, he was doing what he felt was best for his family. He didn't tell you because maybe he and his family didn't feel like you were close enough to tell you or they just didn't know how'd you react to it." Ino explained.

"I... I guess...I just didn't think of it that way..."

"And now he wants to make up for it. By asking you to the ball. Do you think he has feelings for you?"

"I... don't know...I never really gave it thought."

"Do you have feelings for him?"

"I..." Videl said, but stopped herself. "I don't know."

"Hmmm, well maybe you should give that some thought." Ino said.

"I mean...we grew up together, trained together...I always thought of him as a brother..." Videl admitted.

"Like I said, give it some thought. I've got to get back to training." Ino said, knowing that the best thing she could do right now would be to give Videl some space.

Videl nodded as she watched Ino leap away. Now she was all alone with her thoughts. She had never thought about any of that. As usual, she let her temper get the better of her and potentially ruined her friendship.

* * *

Later, back with Sakura and Tsunade. Sakura had just divulged everything she saw and heard between Sasuke and Naruto.

"And like I said, Shikamaru can confirm everything." Sakura finished.

"I believe you. Shikamaru told me a similar story when I confronted him days ago." Tsunade said.

"Well, this was last night. And... something else I heard that has me confused..."

"What is it?"

"I, um...I found out that...Naruto...he...um..." Sakura stammered, her face beet red.

"I wouldn't worry about it." Tsunade winked.

"B-but...but..." Sakura stammered, only to receive a pat on her shoulder.

"I've seen this before. Give it time, and it'll all work out. Until then, focus on the task at hand."

"But I don't even know if I... if I..."

"Like I said, give it time." Tsunade smiled.

Sakura sighed. "Yes, master."

"Good, now go help him train. He's gonna need all the help he can get if he's facing a dragon." Tsunade said playfully.

"Lady Tsunade!" Sakura whined, her face beet red in embarrassment.

"Hey, I'm serious. Those things will roast him alive if he's not prepared. Get to it."

"Y-yes,M'lady." Sakura said quickly before getting ready to go.

* * *

With morning warm-ups finished, Naruto and the rest of the Konoha 15 headed to the dining hall for breakfast. All of them sat isolated from the rest of the Gryffindors with the exception of Naruto, Sakura, Hermione and Harry. The latter of whom looked to be in a particularly grumpy mood.

"Hey man, what's eaten ya?" Naruto asked. His mouth filled with fried sausage links.

"It's nothing." Harry said as he cut his eggs so much that he was starting to leave marks on the plate.

"Harry is upset over Ron, his best friend." Hermione said.

"Former-best friend." Harry interrupted.

"Uh oh...what happened?" Sakura asked.

"The little tosser thinks I'm replacing him with you two." Harry grumbled.

"What? Why would he think that?" Naruto asked.

"Because he saw you both act so friendly around him. And he's jealous of Harry as it is. Him being chosen for the Quint-Wizard tournament was the last straw. So, seeing him get so chummy with you, Naruto, is like rubbing salt in the wound." Hermione explained.

"That's just ridiculous. He sounds like he's acting like a child." Sakura said.

"He is being a little childish, but he's just frustrated. I'm sure that give him some time and the two of them will come around." Hermione said.

"Doubtful." Harry grumbled.

"Yes, you will. You miss him, Harry. And I know he misses you too. You're both just so stubborn sometimes."

"Oh, I know what that's like." Sakura said, giving Naruto the stink eye.

"I'm not the one who's got a problem, unless you count the fact that I'm stuck playing in this deadly tournament." Harry grumbled.

"That reminds me..." Naruto spoke softly, making sure no one else could hear him. "I found out what the first task is."

"That it's dragons?" Harry whispered.

"Yes...and they are not friendly in the slightest." Naruto nodded.

"I know. I saw them in the forest. And I think I saw you leave the forest. We're you with a white wolf? Jumping through the trees?" Harry asked.

"Dog, but yes, that was me."

"I thought so. Hard to mistake your orange jacket and pants for anyone else."

"What were you doing in the forest at night?" Naruto asked.

"I was with our friend Hagrid. He was the one who showed me."

"Hagrid?" Sakura asked.

"Who's Hagrid? Naruto asked.

"Our Care for Magical Creatures Professor." Hermione said. "And you shouldn't tell anyone that, Harry. What if someone overheard that he helped you cheat?"

"We don't care, honestly." Sakura waved off.

"I care. Hagrid could lose his job or get the both of them in trouble." Hermione hissed.

"That's not what she means." Naruto interjected. "We wouldn't tell anyone. Keeping secrets is what we do best. That and I secretly put up a silencing jutsu around us."

"You don't know the silencing jutsu." Sakura said skeptically.

"Don't worry about it, Sakura-chan. It's not important." Naruto waved off.

"I think it's important. You asked me to tutor you on that jutsu a while back. When did you suddenly master it? I didn't even notice that you put it up. Even I can't do that."

"I said it's not important right now." Naruto said seriously, in a tone that meant he wanted it dropped right now.

Sakura was upset, but knew there was no point arguing with him any further. She caught the eye of a sympathetic Hermione and the two of them shared in the universal girl's gripe.

 _'Boys.'_ They both thought.

"Fine." Sakura said.

"So, you guys say we could take part in your lessons, right?" Naruto asked.

"Naruto, you are supposed to be training for your task." Sakura said sternly. "The dragon, remember?"

"The champions are encouraged to take part in the lessons, as Professor Dumbledore had said." Hermione said.

"And I'm sure some of your charms would be fascinating, but since Naruto has to face a dragon, he needs to focus on his ninja arts." Sakura said.

"They'd be a sight more useful than just straight brute magic." Hermione said, being terribly offended at Sakura's presumption about magic.

"And just what is that supposed to mean? Are you trying to compare us to the Kame students?" Sakura demanded. "Our ninjutsu is far more civilized than just punching something to get results, thank you."

"Hey now, calm down Sakura-chan." Naruto said while Harry tried to hold Hermione back as well.

Outside of their silencing jutsu; Dean, Neville, and a few of the other Gryffindor 4th years watched the four of them look like they were playing a very aggressive game of charades.

"Come on! You wanna come at me, you better have the cubes to back it up!" Sakura challenged.

"Really!?" Hermione gasped, astonished at Sakura's uncouth language.

"Really!"

"Seriously, Sakura-chan. You're making a scene." Naruto begged.

"She insulted us and you expect me to take it lying down?!" Sakura snapped.

"No, just, we can't be fighting them. They're our hosts." Naruto said.

"You insulted us first. How dare you talk down about wand magic like that." Hermione spat.

The two girls broke away from their respective boy-friends and stared at each other, sparks literally flying between them.

"I didn't insult you. I merely said that Naruto needs to focus on what he already knows. You were the one who took it as an insult and then insulted us. So don't place the blame on me." Sakura spat back.

"I heard your tone when talking about charms." Hermione said.

"What tone? I didn't have any tone to that!"

"Yes you did." Hermione said. "Harry, you heard it."

"Um well, I guess I did?" Harry said, certain only that he didn't want to step in the middle of these two.

"Look, can we just drop it?" Naruto spoke. "It doesn't really matter either way. Hermione, Sakura-chan is right. Magic to us is kinda useless at this stage in our lives so it wouldn't help much to me right now with the task this close to us. Sakura-chan, it would still be a good idea to attend. Not just out of curiosity, but because there may be a few tricks to help me survive this task."

The two girls just stared at each other. "Fine." They both said, neither one of them flinching.

Naruto and Harry just sighed. The last thing they needed was their friends bickering with each other over trivial matters.

Harry sighed again, knowing this was as good as they were going to get. "Come on, you lot. We've got Defense Against the Dark Arts.

"Who's the teacher?" Naruto asked.

"Professor Moody." Harry said.

That got Sakura's attention. "Moody? As in Alaster Moody?"

"Yeah, you know him?" Harry asked.

"Not really, but I've heard of him." Sakura clarified.

"You have? I've never heard of him." Naruto said.

"I'm going by what I've heard about him from the students here. From what I've heard, he is very intense."

"Intense? In what way?" Naruto asked.

"You'll have to see for yourself." Harry said as he and Hermione stood up and got their books for class.

After a few reassurances to their friends, Naruto and Sakura left the Konoha 12 to their ninja training while the two of them followed Harry and Hermione to the 4th year Defense Against the Dark Arts class.

"So what do you normally learn here?" Naruto asked. "This class I mean."

"We learn to defend ourselves against those who use dark magic." Hermione answered.

"And today Professor Moody says that he is going to teach us about the Three Unforgivable Curses." Harry said, earning curious looks from both ninjas.

"Unforgivable curses?" Sakura asked. "Why do I not like the sound of that."

"Because the use of any one of those curses on another human being is punishable by sending the spell castor to Azkaban prison for the rest of their lives." Hermione explained.

"Well, what are they? What do they do that's so bad?" Naruto asked.

"We'll let Professor Moody explain it to you. He is the expert." Hermione said.

"Sounds fair." Naruto shrugged.

The four of them arrived just as class was about to start, meaning the only seats left were the ones right up front. Naruto and Sakura could feel the eyes of all of Harry's classmates burrowing into them. A few kids whispered about Naruto's cheeks while a few others took note of Sakura's medical skirt. One boy in particular with freckles and flaming red hair seemed to eye Naruto with particular disdain before darting his eyes back to the front of the chalkboard. Neither ninja said a word as they both took their seats.

"Wait...is that...?" Naruto whispered as he spotted a familiar muscular man with spiky black hair wearing reading glasses.

"Who?" Sakura asked before slightly recognizing the man. "Is that one of the boys from Kame?"

"Yeah, I think that's Gohan." Naruto whispered.

"Who?" Sakura whispered.

"Gohan Son. That Videl girl told me about him."

"He a friend of hers?" Sakura asked.

"Um...I don't really know. She seemed to have a great deal of anger and jealousy when she talked about him."

 _'I can hear you two, ya know.'_ Gohan spoke into their minds, making them jump.

"Something wrong?" Hermione asked while the students seated behind them snickered.

"It's nothing." Naruto said, not wanting to cause a scene. Which was just as well, for at that moment, the doors to the front office flew open and out stepped Mad-Eye Moody himself.

"Put your wands away. My spiders finally came in, and what do we have here?" Moody spoke in the raspy kind of voice Naruto and Sakura knew from retired veteran ninjas. "Two new faces. Ninjas from the Leaf. And one of them is a Champion no less."

Naruto and Sakura both nodded. "I'm-"

"Yes, yes...I know who you two are." Moody waved off.

"You do?" Sakura asked, slightly concerned.

"It's my job to know who is here and who isn't, missy." Moody said gruffly. Moody's magical left eye then darted down Naruto's front and he could swear that Moody was looking at his belly. But it was impossible. He'd have to be looking through the desk.

"And I'd say at least one of you is worth knowing." Moody said vaguely.

 _'What...? How...did he know?'_ Naruto thought.

Sakura gripped the side of her desk so hard that she could hear the wood cracking.

"But that hardly matters. Today, at long last, we will be learning about the Unforgivable Curses up close." Moody said. "You've all taken notes, but today you get to see them in action. Now for the sake of our two foreign guests, we shall go over them again. Weasley, what is the first of the Three Unforgivable Curses?"

All eyes turned on this Weasley guy, who just so happened to be the red head who was giving Naruto and Harry the stink eye earlier.

"The Imperius Curse." Ron said. "The one they use to control people."

"Ah, yes...your father would know all about that one. It gave the Ministry a hard time a few years back." Moody acknowledged.

He turned his back on the class to pick out a jar filled with spiders only slightly smaller than tarantulas. The arachnid squirmed around his fingers as spiders do until Moody pointed his wand at it. " _Imperio_!" Moody shouted. Instantly the spider froze in place before leaping off of Moody's hand and landed on Naruto and Sakura's desk.

"WAAAAAHH!" Sakura shrieked.

"Calm down girl, he's completely tame." Moody reassured as the spider walked right up to Sakura and curtsied like a gentleman at a ball asking her to dance.

Sakura shivered. "D-doesn't...make it any less...creepy..."

Moody flicked his wand to the side and the spider crab walked over to the edge of the table. He flicked it to the left and the spider rolled to the other side before leaping to the next table and started to break dance, making the rest of the students laugh.

"Talented, isn't she?" Moody laughed before having the spider land on Gohan's head. Gohan was seemingly un-phased by it and reached up and held the spider in his hands with a slight smile.

The spider stood up on one of its leg and gave Gohan a friendly wave with the other seven.

"He's so friendly." Moody smiled. "What should I make him do next? Jump out the window?" He flicked his wand and the spider leapt over to the window, hanging off the edge by a single leg. Instantly the laughter died down. "Drown himself?" The spider leapt over to a nearby pickling jar, ready to dive in. No one was smiling now.

Moody then had the spider float back into his hand as he was about to address the class. "Total control. A lot of people say they only did You-know-who's bidding because of the influence of the Imperius curse. It is that effective to turn one's mind to do anything anyone wants them to do." Moody spoke. "Here's the rub. How do you sort out the liars?" Moody said ominously.

No one said a word, afraid of what would come next.

"The next spell..." Harry noticed that Moody's eyes darted towards Neville. "The Cruciatus Curse. You ninjas might appreciate this one." Moody said as he returned the spider to its jar and pulled out a fresh one.

" _Crucio_!" Moody cried. Immediately the spider in his hand seized up and started twitching horribly. It rolled over to its back and started thrashing about with its many legs. Sakura actually started to feel bad for the poor thing. Naruto could swear that he heard it screaming.

Gohan grew angry by what was happening and he quickly noticed that it was bothering Neville horribly.

"Professor, please stop!" Gohan cried.

Moody twitched his head before noticing that Neville was flinching at the sight of the spider being tortured. He quickly released the spell and the spider relaxed. "The torture curse." Moody spoke.

"I don't appreciate it at all." Naruto said.

"Well your ninja villages have. For centuries, they have sought to transfer the Cruciatus Curse into jutsu form. With little help from the Ministry I might add. The idea of absolute torture is appealing to some interrogators." Moody smirked, for a second Harry could have sworn that he saw his professor lick his lips and Naruto, Sakura, and Gohan were certain that is what they saw. "But that's neither here nor there. The Torture Curse is not a nice spell. Some might say that it's the cruelest curse of the three. But only because they haven't experienced the last curse."

Moody looked around the room. "Can anyone name the 3rd unforgivable curse?"

Only Hermione had her hand raised.

"Go on." Moody nodded.

"Avada Kadavra." Hermione whispered.

Moody nodded before pointing his wand at the spider. " _Avada Kedavra_!" Moody cried. There was a flash of blinding green light and a rushing sound, as though a vast, invisible something was soaring through the air. Instantaneously the spider rolled onto its back, unmarked, but unmistakably dead. Several of the students stifled cries.

"The killing curse... Not nice, not pleasant. And there is no counter curse. There is no easy way of blocking it. Only one has ever survived it." He looked directly at Harry. "And he's in this room, sitting in right in front of me."

Naruto and Sakura turned their eyes on Harry. He survived it? The unblockable curse? How? Why? When? They had so many questions, but Harry appeared to be caught up in his own little world.

"Now, there are a few things to note about the curse, and copy this down, it could just about save your life." Moody said, making everyone furiously pull out their parchment to take notes. Naruto and Sakura pulled out a few blank scrolls.

"Fortunately, there is a way to survive an encounter with someone who is using it. The Killing Curse is a projectile spell. Meaning that it has to hit you in order to kill you. Anyone firing these spells at you has got to be aiming for you. The incantation, Avada Kedavra, is based off the Aramaic language that means, _let the thing be destroyed._ If you fire this spell at someone but they are hiding behind a rock, the curse will hit the rock and shatter it. Same with a door, or in my experience, anything sturdier than paper. Don't go thinking that you can just put on a suit of armor and be safe. The spell is clever enough to know that it's hit a living thing. You need a physical barrier between you and the spell."

"I can erect a barrier easily enough." Gohan said.

"With Ki?" Moody asked.

Gohan nodded.

"Then it'll be useless." Moody said.

"It...it will?" Gohan asked.

"A Ki based barrier would be no different than wearing a suit of armor. If its connected to you in some form, you will still die."

"A Ki based barrier is no different from a magical barrier or magic shield. Same goes for ninjutsu. The closest thing I've ever seen to it being blocked was when I had to hunt down a Death Eater who fled to the Hidden Rock village. I was assisted by a Rock ninja and he erected a wall of earth with his ninjutsu. The scumbag's spell hit the wall, it shattered, and debris caved in the man's skull anyway."

That made Naruto gulp. He was terrible with earth jutsu. Pretty much everyone in his class was too, even Sasuke with his damn Sharingan. Could a Shadow Clone block it? Probably not, since they were made entirely of chakra.

"Avada Kedavra requires a great deal of magical skill. You could all point your wands at me right now and I doubt that I'd even get a nose bleed. Now why am I showing you this if I'm not going to teach you? Because you've got know this. You've got to appreciate what the worst is. CONSTANT VIGILIANCE!"

Gohan nodded while everyone else flinched. He knew better than anyone how keeping a close eye on your opponent is key to winning a battle. His life or death battle against Cell was case and point. As he waited for the next bit of the lesson, he noticed Moody's eyes fixed upon him.

"You have the look of a veteran, Mr. Son. Care to share some of your experience with the class?"

"I'd rather not." Gohan said softly.

"Good. I hate idiots who brag. If you've got to boast about your many exploits that's means that you've only got a few exploits." Moody said.

Naruto and Harry met each other's eyes.

"As for the rest of you, copy this down..."

For the rest of the lesson, all they did was take notes on the Unforgivable Curses, their counter curses, and methods of recognizing them. By the end of the lesson everyone felt positively whelmed.

"Well that was something else." Naruto said.

"I'll say..." Sakura said, now even more concerned for Naruto. "A curse that kills anything it hits...it's hard to believe something like that exists..."

"Yeah, no wonder it's illegal. Takes all the fun out of battle." Naruto said.

"That's not why, Naruto. Anyone with an evil heart can use it as a means of murdering someone just for the hell of it."

"Well yeah, bad guys do it all the time."

"And how can you defend against something like that?" Sakura asked with concern.

"I'm not. But bad guys hurt people without the Killing Curse all the time." Naruto said.

"And what if this guy comes around here? That really bad wizard. What then?"

"Well then I'll protect you and you'll protect me." Naruto said.

Sakura nodded with a soft smile. _'I hope so...'_ She thought.

 _'What do you mean you hope so?'_ Inner questioned.

 _'I mean I hope so. This curse sounds really bad and I don't want him to get hurt.'_

 _'Yeah, because he's "your best friend."'_ Inner said, using her fingers to quote what Sakura had always said. _'When are you going to admit that you like him more than friends and I don't mean like a brother either.'_

 _'Oh for fuck sake...are you still on about that?'_

 _'Yes, I am! You know deep down you have strong feelings for him and yet you keep him and yourself in the friend zone. You already wrote off that Teme, Sasuke, so what are you going to do for a man in your life? Need I remind you that life is short and you aren't getting any younger.'_

 _'I'm 17!'_

 _'And your point is what? Ino-Pig has a boyfriend. You want her to keep getting one up on you? Time flies by in a blink of an eye and before you know it, you'll be in your 30's, working a dead-end job, alone and lonely.'_

 _'I'm on the fast track to taking over as Head Medic of the entire Leaf Village. I could retire as a ninja tomorrow and live a cushy life as a doctor. And what are you? My mother?'_

 _'I am your Inner most thoughts and feelings. And it doesn't matter if you have that nice cushy job or not. You would want, no, need companionship and you know it.'_

 _'I swear I'm gonna have Ino's dad seal you away for good one day. It was nice when I was confused about Sasuke but now I think I'm going crazy.'_ Sakura thought.

 _'And now you can't stand him for what he's doing to Naruto. I'm trying to help you out in the long run. The only reason I'm here is because you're not being honest with yourself. I'm not saying to take him to bed with you and ride him like a horse tonight.'_ Inner said, making Sakura's face burn in embarrassment at the thought of doing something like that. _'I'm saying to be honest with yourself and make the first move. That dance is coming up and I'm sure he has no one to go with.'_

 _'He has Hinata.'_

 _'Oh please... acknowledge it or not, but you get fuming when you even think about him being with that ghost-eyed stalker.'_

 _'I'm done talking about this.'_ Sakura thought.

 _'ADMIT IT!'_ Inner shouted.

 _'One more word and I have Ino seal you away!'_ Sakura snapped.

Inner just grumbled. _'You can be just as stubborn as Naruto, you know that?'_

 _'Yup. Tell me something I don't know. Now zip it.'_ Sakura ordered.

Once Sakura had snapped out of her mental conversation, she noticed that she and Naruto were outside of the castle and Naruto was staring at her.

"Have another conversation with Inner?" Naruto asked, even when he knew exactly what she looked like whenever she talked to her inner self.

"Yeah..." Sakura said, rubbing her forehead.

"It's been awhile since I saw you black out for so long." Naruto commented.

"Yeah, don't worry about it." Sakura waved off quickly.

"Okay then." Naruto said as he leaned his head back against his arms. He couldn't help but smirk. He didn't know why, but he always liked it that Sakura talked to a voice in her head. When he first found out, Sakura was nearly in tears thinking that Naruto would call her a freak.

"How could I ever call you a freak? You put up with me and my...furry little problem." Naruto had smirked. Maybe he just liked knowing that in a way they were both outcasts.

The two of them enjoyed their stroll through the field when Naruto felt his sandal hit something soft and slimy.

"What the hell?" Naruto asked before looking down.

Sakura followed his eyes and saw a toad as big as a kitten sitting on Naruto's toes.

"A toad?" Sakura asked.

 _'Shit...worst possible timing.'_ Naruto thought.

"I didn't know that toads in Britain got that big." Sakura said as she knelt down to get a good look at the amphibian. "You lost little guy? You seem far away from your pond."

"Yes! I think he is!" Naruto said, jumping on the opportunity and scooping the toad off the ground. "I'm gonna go take him back to his pond. I'll meet you back at the house before dinner."

"Before dinner? It's not even lunch yet. What about your training?"

"I'll train on my own out in the woods. In private. It'll be a nice change of pace." Naruto said quickly.

Sakura looked confused. "Uh...okay then..."

Naruto then jumped away, leaping through the trees at full speed.

 _'Now that's rather suspicious...what could he possibly be doing going that fast for?'_ Inner wondered.

 _'Returning the toad I guess?'_ Sakura shrugged.

 _'That wasn't a British toad I guarantee you that. That looked like a summoned toad.'_

 _'You're crazy. There are no summoning toads.'_ Sakura thought.

Naruto meanwhile had made it a thousand yards into the forest before he felt safe to talk.

"Sweet Sage, that was close." Naruto said as the little toad squirmed in his arms. "What's up, Gamakichi?"

"Not much." The little summoning toad spoke. "The old pervert wants a word with you."

"Ya know, you could have waited until we were back at camp." Naruto grumbled.

"And risk getting seen?" An older voice spoke from atop a nearby tree.

High above Naruto sat an old man with silver white hair, large and spiky like a lion's mane, dressed in worn robes of green and red. He was eating an apple that looked to be picked off someone's back garden tree.

"What is it now, Pervy Sage." Naruto demanded.

"You ever going to stop calling me that, brat?" Jiraiya accused. "Keep it up and I won't base my main character off of you when I publish my comeback novel."

"If you ever get off the blacklist." Naruto said.

"Just you wait. One day I'm gonna clear my name and then we'll see who the Pervy Sage is." Jiraiya smirked.

"Still gonna be you." Naruto smirked.

"Yeah, yeah, so how have you been? Heard you made champion of your school through the toads. Yet you haven't once asked me for more training. I'm offended, brat."

"I didn't know you would be here, honestly. Plus, I never entered this damn tournament."

"The Hell do you mean? You came half way around the world and you chicken out at the chance to compete? I know that's not your style." Jiraiya accused.

"No, I didn't chicken out. That bastard Sasuke tried to force me to enter himself...but I got him. I entered Sakura-chan instead."

"Then how did you get chosen?"

"She, um...entered me." Naruto said sheepishly.

"Ahh...I see." Jiraiya smirked. "I seemed to have misjudged her."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Naruto asked.

"Nothing I'd care to spoil." Jiraiya smirked.

"Oh, I know what you're thinking. Forget it, Pervy Sage. She's my best friend only."

"Of course, she is. Now to more important matters. Getting you to survive against a dragon, was it?"

"Yeah, and I have no idea how I'm gonna survive and the first task is almost ready."

"I'll say..." Jiraiya whistled. "Dragons. One of the deadliest magical creatures you'll ever face. How in the Hell are they expecting you to face one all by yourself?" Jiraiya scratched his chin.

"I don't know! I thought going to one of their classes would have some information on how to beat it or at least defend myself, but all we learned about was the unforgivable curses." Naruto ranted in a panic.

"Yeah, those don't do squat against a dragon. Even if you could use them. Their scales are so embedded with magic that it usually takes several wizards just to cast a single spell on them. Same goes with Ki and chakra. I doubt even the famous Goku's Kamehameha Wave could pierce it's hide."

"That means Videl wouldn't have a chance either and she took down Granny Tsunade with one toss."

"More importantly, neither would you."

"So what do I do then?! I can't forfeit!"

"Calm down, brat. I've actually got an idea cooking that is just crazy enough to work." Jiraiya said.

"Really? What is it?"

"If I'm right, and you master it, it'll be a new jutsu that can kill dragons." Jiraiya smirked.

* * *

Much later, back at the Kame camp, Videl had spent most of the day meditating in preparation for her challenge, but mostly she had been doing a lot of soul searching. What Ino said to her that morning really got her thinking about how she really felt about the person she had come to despise due to her own jealousy.

She honestly didn't know what to think. Ino made some very valid points about how her anger was misplaced, but at the same time, he did lie to her. But he did it to protect his family's privacy. The more she thought about it, the more conflicted she was.

And then there was that other thing Ino asked. "Do you have feelings for him?"

 _'Do I like him?'_ Videl thought.

Videl furiously shook her head. She had more important things to worry about. Romance was not one of them. He was a Saiyan after all and he had lied to her. She may be willing to admit that she is jealous of his abilities, but in the end, he still lied to her ever since they were children. Whether it was to protect his family or not, he should have been upfront and honest with her. That part she wasn't going to let go.

 _'Not easily...'_ She thought to herself. _'He did try to apologize to me, but he should have done that years ago. Now it's too late.'_ As she thought that, she felt a pang of guilt well up inside her. she reached into her shirt and pulled out her mother's necklace and held it in her hand. _'Mom...what would you do in this situation?'_ She thought as she looked at the silver pendant with a red shining jewel in the center.

"Videl?" She heard Gohan's voice. She immediately turned around, still grasping her pendant.

Now that guilt was replaced with anger as she snapped her head around. "What do you want?" She hissed.

"I was just checking on you." Gohan said, raising his hands to indicate that he meant no harm. "You looked distraught."

"Don't worry about it." Videl said as she put her necklace away. "I was just meditating."

"What was that?" Gohan asked.

"You know what it is...I've had it ever since I was born." Videl scoffed.

"Oh right, your mom's pendant." Gohan said.

Videl sighed heavily. "Is there a reason why you're bugging me right now? I'm not exactly happy to see you after last night."

"No reason in particular. You just looked like you had something on your chest." Gohan said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Yeah, actually there is!" Videl snapped before grabbing him by the collar of his shirt. "Are you absolutely out of your mind?! You wait till NOW to apologize to me when you could have done that YEARS ago?! Like Hell I'm going to accept it! You should have told me BEFORE I saw you transform and blow cell to pieces!" She screamed, tears running down her face in anger. "Then you have the fucking BALLS to ask me to the Ball?! Are you nuts?! After everything you've done to me, you seriously expect me to say 'yes' and let you sweep me off my feet?! Fat chance, Gohan Son! I was angry when I found out that you lied to me but now I'm FURIOUS!"

"Videl, please understand, I couldn't tell you." Gohan said as Videl manhandled his shirt.

She shoved him onto his butt and blew up a boulder that was next to him with a Ki blast. "Just STAY AWAY FROM ME! I don't wanna hear your excuses! Yeah, I already figured it out. You were protecting your family's privacy. BUT YOU COULD HAVE STILL CONFIDED IN ME! I TRUSTED YOU AND YOU SHOULD HAVE DONE THE SAME!"

"My family's privacy? I was protecting my friendship with you!" Gohan shouted.

"I SAID-wait...what?" Videl asked, now actually curious.

"You think I didn't want to tell you? You were my best friend for years! You were my first friend my own age! I looked up to you. But then you lost your mother when Nappa destroyed East City. Don't you remember those weeks you stayed with my family. Cursing Saiyans the whole time? How could I tell you that I was a half-Saiyan then?"

"That's your reason? You think I would have hated you because of what you are? Gohan, you still could have told me! I wouldn't have cared because you and Goku are kind and pure of heart! I would have still accepted you no matter what! I looked up to you! You had strength and bravery when I didn't and you taught me a lot before Master Roshi took over! You didn't have to be dishonest with me! Why is it that you are so brave in combat but you're a coward when it comes to being honest with me? Why, Gohan?!" Videl exclaimed with a pleading look in her eyes.

"Because I...I..." Gohan's fist tightened and cheeks brightened. "I couldn't risk our friendship. You were so distraught at losing your mom. I thought...maybe if I waited for you to get over her..."

Videl couldn't hold her tears in and the flood gate burst. "Gohan...I STILL haven't gotten over her death...I saw her ripped from my life...I watched as she was instantly disintegrated by a blast...and her dust covered my body...that's something you never forget... But what hurts worse is that...the one person I really looked up to in life...the one I got my strength from...lied to me... You cut me deeper than any blast could have ever done...and even after I found out...you still wouldn't be honest with me...and you're still not being honest with me...you're just making more excuses..." She cried.

"Damn it, Videl! I was a child and I made a mistake! I'm sorry! I wish I could take it back! I wish I could have been braver when I was younger, but I wasn't!" Gohan cried.

Videl just stared at him, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Videl...from the bottom of my heart...I'm sorry...I'm sorry I lied to you...I'm sorry about everything I did to you...I want us to be friends again...I want you to be a part of my life again...without you...it feels...empty...please forgive me..."

"W-what...what are you saying?" Videl stammered. She looked into his eyes and could see what he was talking about and her face and body relaxed. "Gohan...why didn't you tell me you felt this way? Why must you keep everything a secret from me?"

"I-I... I just...with everything going on between us...I didn't think it was appropriate." Gohan admitted nervously.

"Oh...Gohan...you need to be more open and honest with me if you expect us to get along again..." Videl almost pleaded as she walked up to him and grabbed his hand. "Okay? Do you think I like this rift that has formed between us? I hate it just as much as you do, but you gotta understand...you cannot treat people like this...especially your friends..."

She reached up and wiped a stray tear from his face. "Okay, big guy?"

Gohan sniffed. An entire childhood of insecurities laid bare. "Okay."

"Good..." Videl smiled before noticing how close they were and stepped back a few paces. "Ahem...well...now that all of this has...been put to bed, I need to get back to training..."

"Would you like a sparring partner?" Gohan asked, finally being taken back to familiar territory.

"Normally I would like that, but I have thoughts I need to sort out...alone..." Videl admitted.

"Okay." Gohan said, feeling deflated.

"Hey, don't look so glum..." Videl smiled. "There will be other opportunities to spar. Just...not today, okay?"

"Right...I guess I was...well...you knowing about...you know..."

"Yes, that's one of the reasons I need to be alone. I'm still a little hurt so I just...wanna be alone for a bit."

"Alright. I'll just go do my own training. Give me a call if you want to train with me. Morning, noon, or night." Gohan said.

"Sure thing." Videl said before Gohan flew away. As soon as he was far enough away, she flopped on her back with a content look on her face.

 _'Oh man...that's a huge load off my chest...'_ She thought. _'I guess Ino was right...'_

She looked up at the sky, absentmindedly glazing at the clouds as they passed her by.

 _'He likes me like that, huh?'_ She thought to herself.

A flock of birds passed by, right in front of a cloud that Videl thought looked like two dogs facing each other. Maybe about to touch snouts. _'Going to the dance with Gohan?'_ She asked herself. _'Could be fun.'_ Her thoughts turned to herself in a dress being escorted by a man in a suit with Gohan's hair, but not quite his face. His faced resembled more like Naruto's, complete with the whisker marks and a soft, yet confident smile.

 _'Now wouldn't that be interesting? Two champions from two different schools going together? He'd certainly be stronger than any wizard.'_ She smiled at that. _'He is really handsome.'_

But as soon as Videl thought that, she remembered that when she hung out with Naruto, the way she saw him and Sakura act around one another and how fondly he talked about her, she knew he wouldn't go to the dance with her. He would more than likely ask Sakura out.

'Still…' She thought before returning to her training. No matter what her feelings were, she still had more pressing matters. The first task would be coming up very soon and she was going to win.

* * *

 **Author's Note from Panda: And by very soon she means next chapter. So many new reviews, we are finally picking up steam. Its not a crazy amount, but every last review still brings a smile to our faces. We thank you for them.**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 - The First Task

The morning of the 24th came sooner than anyone would have liked. Least of all, Harry. Whose dread at the approaching task has nearly settled by last night when he had finished mastering his Accio spell with Hermione, but had flared up again at breakfast. The whole school was a buzz with anticipation for the first task, which only made Harry even more nervous. It wasn't until he saw Naruto's cheery face approaching him in the banqueting hall for lunch that Harry's nerves were quelled but a little.

"Yo, Harry!" Naruto greeted, waving his bandaged right hand.

"What happened to your hand?" Harry asked.

"Oh don't bother asking him." An agitated looking Sakura cut in as she appeared from behind Naruto. "He'll just give you the run around and say it's training."

"Sorry." Naruto whispered. "She's been like this for weeks."

"Right...but you seem rather calm for the task."

"Yeah, I've got a strategy down, ya see. So, I'm feeling pumped." Naruto smirked.

"Glad one of us is..." Sakura grumbled.

"So how about you?" Naruto asked.

"Nervous...very nervous." Harry admitted.

"Yeah, I remember when I had my first mission. I was so nervous that I froze up at the first encounter with the enemy. Do you know what I did?"

"What?" Harry asked.

"I stabbed myself in the hand." Naruto said while unknowingly holding up his bandaged hand. "Wait, bad example..."

"Don't worry about it. I faced Voldemort twice. I'll think of something." Harry said.

"See. Just think of this as fighting that Voldemort guy and you'll be fine."

"He is the one who tried to kill me." Harry informed.

"When you were a baby?"

"Yes, and during my first and second years here."

"There, see? Not so nervous now, are you?" Naruto smiled.

Harry just sighed as he pushed his eggs and black pudding around on his plate.

"Maybe he isn't like you, Naruto. So you should probably cut it out." Sakura suggested.

"Well you said you had a plan right? Just stick with it and you'll be fine." Naruto tried again, but Harry was lost in his lunch. He only snapped out of it when Professor McGonagall walked up to them.

"Potter, Uzumaki. You both had best come with me. The first task will be starting soon."

Sakura's anger from before was now replaced with dread and concern. Whatever plan Naruto had cooked up, she hoped it would work.

The two of them nodded and stood up.

"Good luck Harry. You too, Naruto." Hermione said worriedly.

Harry gave Hermione a polite nod while Naruto gave her a thumbs up.

"Naruto..." Sakura said tentatively. "You'd better win." She smirked, holding up her fist in her famous "Hell yeah," gesture.

"Do I count that as an incentive?" Naruto joked.

"You'd better." Sakura smiled.

"I'll win. Believe it." Naruto grinned.

Sakura smiled as she watched Naruto and Harry walk away.

"Do you think they'll be okay?" Hermione asked.

"One thing I know about Naruto. If he says he's gonna do something, he won't stop until he fulfills that. That being said, I'm sure the both of them will be okay." Sakura nodded.

"I hope so." Hermione said nervously, making Sakura raise an eyebrow.

 _'Could she be...? Nah. Too easy.'_ Sakura thought.

"Come on, we'll want to get front row seats for this." Sakura said.

Harry and Naruto followed McGonagall down to the field where a stadium that wasn't there yesterday sat.

"Where did this come from?" Naruto asked.

"Magic, I think." Harry guessed.

They made their way inside a nearby tent where Viktor Krom, Fleur and Videl we're already waiting.

Videl gave the two of them a polite nod while Krum and Fleur ignored them to keep their edge about them. Naruto nodded in return and sat down on one of the benches next to Videl. Harry, seeing nothing else to do, joined him.

"Do either one of you know what this task is supposed to be? I heard a lot of roaring and snarling on my way here." Videl asked Naruto and Harry. The two boys looked at one another.

"You don't know?" Harry asked, earning looks from Krum and Fleur.

There was a rustle of tent flaps and Cedric burst into the champion's tent.

"Sorry, I'm late." Cedric said, looking rather flustered.

"No I don't know." Videl spoke. "What is it?"

"Um..." Harry said.

"You vill find out zoon enough." Fleur spoke, her voice shaky.

"We gotta go up against dragons." Naruto informed seriously.

Videl looked like she had blanked out for a brief moment. "U-uh...I'm sorry, did you say dragons? As in, giant flying lizards that can breathe fire?"

"Yes, exactly that." Naruto nodded as the color drained from Videl's face.

"Ooh...goodie..." Videl breathed out shakily.

There was a mutual silence as the champions shared their dreaded fate. Even Naruto seemed to lose his cheerful optimism with the task quickly approaching. Harry only noticed that his foot was rapidly tapping when Naruto gave him a nudge. Across from Harry, Fleur was sitting in the corner if the tent, looking clammy. Krum looked even surlier than usual, which was probably his way of showing nerves. Cedric was pacing back and forth. Videl was shadowboxing while mumbling to herself about a dragon's balls of all things. Naruto had taken out one of his kunai and started twirling it around his fingers.

That's when Lucas Bagman burst into the tent, wearing his old Quidditch robes and looked like an overblown cartoon character against the tent's foreboding atmosphere of doom and gloom.

"Jolly good, everyone! Today's the day!" Bagman exclaimed.

Everyone looked at Bagman like an unwanted clown at a wake.

"Well...now that we're all here, time to fill you in!" Bagman said brightly. "When the audience has assembled, I'm going to be offering each of you this bag." He held up a small sack of purple silk and shook it at them. "From which you will each select a small model of the thing you are about to face! There are different...er...varieties, you see. And I have to tell you something else too... ah, yes... your task is to collect the golden egg!"

That made Naruto's eyes go wide. He had thought they were supposed to fight the dragons, not steal a golden egg from them. He had been training for a solid month on his special jutsu and now it might be considered overkill.

And in no time at all, hundreds upon hundreds of pairs of feet could be heard passing the tent, their owners talking excitedly, laughing, joking... The champions all felt separated from the crowd as if they were a different species. And then a second later, Bagman was opening the neck of the purple silk sack.

"Ladies first." He said, offering the bag to Fleur Delacour.

She put a shaking hand inside the bag and drew out a tiny, perfect model of a dragon. A Welsh Green. It had a number two around its neck. Fleur looked at it with a determined resignation.

"A Welsh Green. Very nice." Bagman then moved the bag over to Videl, who seemed to be more confident about this task now.

Videl reached down inside and pulled out a very ferocious looking dragon model that had the number 4 around its neck.

"Japanese Stormbringer... probably the deadliest one here." Bagman gasped.

 _'Oh great...'_ Videl thought. Of course, she had to get the most powerful one.

Krum then stepped forward and pulled out a mini dragon with scales as red as a chili pepper and a number three around its neck.

"Chinese Fireball...oooooohhh..." Bagman smirked. Krum didn't even blink, he just returned to his spot.

Cedric put his hand in the bag, and out came the blueish-grey Swedish Short-Snout, the number one tied around its neck.

"A clever dragon, those Short-Snouts. Be mindful." Bagman warned.

Naruto then put his arm in and wrapped his fingers around the least spiky scaled one. He produced a heavy little dragon with scales like black steel and a six around its neck.

"Oooh, a Ukranian Ironbelly. They say their scales are the thickest and most impenetrable." Bagman hyped up, making Naruto gulp.

Finally, it was Harry's turn.

Harry reached his arm in the bag, knowing that there was only one left.

"And finally, the Hungarian Horntail." Bagman smiled. "Nasty one. You'll be going 5th, Harry. Second to last."

The champions all exchanged brief glances, their mini dragons still in their hands.

"Well there you have it." Bagman said. "You have each pulled out the dragon you will face, and he numbers refer to the order in which you are to take on the dragons, do you see? Now, I'm going to have to leave you in a moment, because I'm commentating. Mr. Diggory, you're first, just go out into the enclosure when you hear a whistle, all right? Now... Harry... could I have a quick word? Outside?"

"Er...yes." Harry said blankly, he looked at Naruto before following Bagman outside the tent.

"What is it?" Harry asked.

"Feeling all right, Harry? Anything I can get you?" Bagman asked.

"I don't believe so."

"Got a plan?" Bagman said, lowering his voice conspiratorially. "Because I don't mind sharing a few pointers, if you'd like them, you know. I mean." Bagman continued, lowering his voice still further. "You're the underdog here, Harry... Anything I can do to help..."

"I'd rather do it on my own. I'll figure something out."

"Nobody would know, Harry." Bagman said, winking at him. Just then, a whistle went off outside. "Whoops, I'd better get up there." He said in alarm, and he hurried off. Leaving Harry confused and weirded out.

He walked back to the tent and saw Cedric emerging from it, greener than ever. Harry tried to wish him luck as he walked past, but all that came out of his mouth was a sort of hoarse grunt. Harry went back inside to Fleur, Krum, Videl, and Naruto. Seconds later, they heard the roar of the crowd, which meant Cedric had entered the enclosure and was now face-to-face with the living counterpart of his model...

"He'll do fine." Naruto assured.

His sentence was punctuated by an ungodly roar that neither boys had heard since their time in the forest. The crowd screamed, yelled, and gasped at whatever it was that Cedric was attempting to do. There was a rush of flames and Harry heard a woman shriek. And Bagman's commentary made everything much, much worse...

"Ooooh, narrow miss there, very narrow..."

"He's taking risks, this one!"

"Clever move - pity it didn't work!"

And then, after about fifteen minutes, they could hear the deafening roar that could only mean one thing: Cedric had gotten past his dragon and captured the golden egg.

"Very good indeed!" Bagman was shouting. "Next champion: Fleur Delacour, come on out!"

Fleur stood up, shaking like a leaf, and headed outside. Moments later they heard similar noises from Cedric's attempt.

"I'm not sure that was wise!"

"Oooh, she nearly had it there!"

After ten minutes, the crowd roared again, indicating that Fleur had been successful. Now it was Krum's turn. He wordlessly left Harry, Naruto, and Videl alone.

"Very daring!" Bagman yelled over the Chinese Fireball's horrible, roaring shriek, while the crowd drew its collective breath. "That's some nerve he's showing - and - yes, he's got the egg!"

Applause shattered the wintery air like breaking glass; Krum had finished, now it was Videl's turn.

"Looks like I'm up." Videl said, her knees feeling weak.

"Good luck." Naruto grinned, holding a thumb up for her.

"Thanks...I'm gonna need it." Videl said before she gulped hard. She made her way out of the tent and towards the area. _'I hope I can do this...'_ She thought.

Videl stepped out of the tent and into the roar of the crowd. The arena was of a large circular design. With a moat separating it from the thousands of people seated and observing Videl. Chained in the center of the rocky terrain was a sky-blue serpent like dragon with wings as white as clouds and horns like pillars of gold. The dragon beat its wings at the sight of Videl, kicking up a typhoon's gust. She threw her head back and her roar sounded like the crack of thunder. Videl could feel the air being charged with electricity just by the Stormbringer's presence.

"Oh this is gonna suck..." Videl gulped before formulating a plan of attack.

She looked down to see a nest of eggs; royal blue with specks of emerald green, mixed in with one solid gold egg. _'I see...'_ She thought. _'Mix the fake egg with the real eggs and the mother will defend her babies more fiercely than any old pile of treasure.'_

She then got a sense of pure determination. _'Yeah...I got this.'_ She thought before using the Multiform to create one copy of herself. "Distract the dragon, I'll go for the egg. The afterimage technique should work well."

"My word! Miss Satan has used some kind of Ki technique (that's the Chinese wizard's term for magic, mind you) to create a perfect duplicate of herself! But will a problem shared be a problem halved?" Bagman spoke to the cheering crowd, his wand tip pressed against his throat.

While the real Videl flew off to the side to circle around the dragon using the moats for cover, her afterimage charged at the Stormbringer head-on.

The dragon, instantly prioritizing its most immediate threat, beat its wings at the copy Videl. It was like flying into the eye of a hurricane, what little progress she made was compounded by the winds growing even stronger. She flew up, then down, then zigzagged to try and break free, but the Stormbringer had her zeroed in dead to rights. Copy Videl finally resorted to grabbing ahold of one of the protruding rocks to just hold on when the Stormbringer opened its jaw and breathed lightning directly at the afterimage. Videl's copy shrieked in pain as she took the blast head on. Her entire body twitched violently as she was sent sailing over the edge and into the moat.

"Oh good Lord! Videl's been hit! I hope that was her duplicate!" Bagman cried.

The real Videl smirked as she took this opportunity to glide out of her hiding place and make a grab for the egg. The problem was that she took her chance too late. Just as she was within 10 feet of the eggs, the Stormbringer's tail recurled around the nest, blocking her path.

"Oh shit!" Videl cried as she flew behind the rocks just as the dragon breathed lightning at her direction.

She flew a quarter of the way around the arena, her hair standing up on its ends, but the rest of her completely unharmed.

"Oooooh, so close! Such a brilliant tactic! And so close too!" Bagman said.

 _'Okay, that didn't work.'_ Videl thought from behind her sturdy rock.

The Stormbringer let loose another roar into the sky, splitting the clouds open and unleashing a torrent of rainfall upon the whole stadium.

"Fucking great..." Videl sighed as she started getting soaked.

"The Stormbringer is demonstrating exactly where it gets its name! They say that each Stormbringer is born from a hurricane and a typhoon joining together!" Bagman shouted.

 _'Yeah, wonderful...now how the hell am I supposed to beat it?'_ Videl thought.

On the stands, separated by a magical barrier, Gohan and the rest of Videl's class was watching on baited breath as she seemed to be fighting an actual hurricane.

"This is completely unfair!" Erasa cried. "All the other dragons were pushovers compared to this one!"

"Just watch, Erasa." Goku spoke. "This isn't even close to over yet."

"How? Videl can't even get close!"

"Yes, she can, and as soon as she figures that out, this match is over." Gohan said.

Back in the arena, Videl was taking a very familiar stance.

 _'If this doesn't work... I don't know what will.'_ Videl thought as she cupped her hands together. "Kame...Hame..."

A ball of blue energy appeared in-between her hands, shining through the rainstorm and teeming with energy that even the Hogwarts students could feel.

"HA!" Videl cried as she thrust her palms at the dragon, unleashing a blast of Ki.

The whole arena held their breath as the Stormbringer twisted and coiled around the Ki wave, dodging it completely. Its tail body whipped around the arena, skimming past the magic barrier before slashing Videl right in the face.

"Videl!" Erasa cried as the entire audience winced.

Videl was sent spinning back by the tail whip across the cheek.

"Oooh! That is going to leave a mark!" Bagman commented.

Videl stood up and checked herself. Surprisingly, she didn't even get a scratch from that dragon.

"The Hell?" Videl asked herself. Her cheek hurt, but it felt like she was just slapped by a water balloon.

She then took a closer look at the dragons hide and that's when she noticed it. "It has no scales and its physical attacks are weak..." She said in awe before smirking. "Perfect..."

Videl flew after the Stormbringer. It's threw its head back and spat lightning. Videl zigzagged behind the cover of rocks. The dragon beat its wings, but Videl moved from cover to cover more confidently that before. The Stormbringer remained in place to defend its eggs, and ever few feet she flew closer, Videl's cover grew smaller and smaller.

"What is she doing?" Alyx asked.

"She figured out the dragon's weakness." Gohan said proudly.

Videl was just a hair's breath away from the nest. Stormbringer took a deep breath. Videl could taste the electricity. She reached out her hand, her fingers pressed against the dragon's scale-less serpent body, and gave it a squeeze.

It was like a crack of thunder got stuck in God's throat. Videl grabbed the dragon for all she was worth and the dragon acted like she had pinched a nerve. The mother dragon just froze.

Videl yanked the torso and found to her delight that she could manhandle the dragon quite easily. She threw the serpent as hard as she could against the rocks. Its head smacked against the arena floor like a bar of soap in a sock.

The crowd went as quiet as the grave. Never before had they seen something like what Videl had just accomplished.

"Did...did she just throw that dragon?" Bagman asked no one in particular.

Videl huffed as the dragon rolled on the ground. She jogged over to the nest and picked out the golden egg and held it over her head. She could practically hear the music.

The crowd exploded with cheers as Videl held up her hard-fought golden egg.

"Amazing! Using feats of strength, the likes of which the Wizarding World has never seen before, Videl Satan has disabled the dragon and collected her golden egg!" Bagman cheered.

Behind Videl's back, the dragon keeper wizards were sheparding the Stormbringer back into its cage while swapping out it's eggs for the Hungarian Horntail's.

"That was incredible." Hermione exclaimed.

"Bloody Hell...that girl scares me." Ron spoke.

"No kidding." Sakura said. She had never seen a girl so strong. Not even Lady Tsunade, well, maybe Tsunade could lift the Stormbringer. Since it has all the weight of storm cloud. If myths were to be believed.

"Who do you think is next?" Sakura asked. "Only Naruto and Harry is left."

"Up next, the unexpected underdog! Harry Potter!" Bagman cheered.

The crowd picked up their cheers again, albeit much softer than when it was Cedric's turn. Sakura noted that the rest of the Hogwarts houses apparently hadn't forgiven Harry from stealing Hufflepuff's glory.

"People still seem to be sore at him." Sakura commented.

Hermione said nothing, only glancing over at Ron who made sure not to meet her eyes.

"Yes... It's rubbish." Hermione said.

"Agreed..." Sakura sighed.

Ron said nothing. The tent flaps opened and Harry stepped out onto the field. He looked as nervous as ever.

"So, what is Harry planning on doing?" Sakura asked.

"He um..." Hermione hesitated while the Horntail roared.

"Oh, come on, you can tell me now. It's too late for me to tell Naruto."

"Okay..." Hermione said. "He is going to be using the Accio spell to summon his Firebolt broomstick to evade the dragon."

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "A broomstick? How would that help?"

"You don't know about broomsticks? How do you get around in Japan?" Ron asked.

"We sprint through the treetops." Sakura shrugged.

"Blimy, without magic?"

"Yes, unless you call Chakra, magic."

"Generally, yes." Hermione said.

"Well we ninja like to focus our chakra into our legs and arms, allowing us to perform a lot of our incredible physical feats." Sakura explained. "I'm willing to bet that Videl and the rest of the students from Kame received similar physical training."

"Well you're partly right." Videl said as she sat with the Kame students next to Sakura and Hermione.

"Shouldn't you be in the hospital tent with the rest of the champions?" Hermione asked.

"I already was. Didn't even have a scratch." Videl said proudly.

"How?" Hermione asked.

"Well like...um, what's your name?" Videl asked Sakura.

"Sakura."

"Sakura, right. Anyway, like what Sakura said, we are trained to take hard hits, only difference is we aren't trained to use our Ki to enhance our bodies at first. We are trained with extremely heavy weights to toughen up our bodies and increase our dexterity, strength and stamina. This in turn increases our bodies defenses greatly." Videl explained.

"Same with us ninjas. When did you start training?" Sakura asked.

"Hmm..." Videl mused as she thought it over. "I think...I was about 3 years old when I first started training with my dad before getting taught by Master Roshi."

"Same. My dad used to take me out back to play ninja or practice kunai throwing until I was 5. Then I went to the academy."

"We didn't start attending Hogwarts until we were 11..." Hermione admitted sheepishly.

"What? Then what did you learn before then?" Sakura asked.

"I attended muggle primary school." Hermione said.

"Muggle?" Videl asked.

"What we call non-magic folk. What do you call them?" Hermione asked.

"Civilians." Sakura replied.

"Ignorant." Videl added.

"Ignorant?" Hermione exclaimed.

"Most people who see us do what we do think it's all a bunch of smoke and mirrors." Videl clarified. "No insult intended."

"It just seems like a harsh thing to say. The magical community intentionally keeps magic a secret. I wouldn't call my parents ignorant, and they are both dentists." Hermione said.

"I'm sure they aren't. My parents are civilians too. They were ninjas for a few years before they retired." Sakura said.

"My dad has been ignorant to the use of Ki and still is. My mom died shortly after I was born..." Videl said.

"I see. I'm sorry to hear that about your mother. But I can't understand your father. We ninjas have our own hidden continent away from the mainland Japan, but any civilians we marry we bring back to live alongside us in the Element continent. We even have villages made up completely of non-chakra users. So, there is never anyone who doesn't believe in chakra."

"My father always said that what we do isn't real martial arts. His way is the only way and he firmly believes in what he says. He's convinced that even though we secretly protect the world, it's nothing but a bunch of tricks to him...I guess his ignorance is what made me write him out of my life and vice versa..." Videl said solemnly.

"Wait, he wrote you off?" Sakura asked in astonishment.

"Yes...it was during the Cell Games when we left to go fight and... oops." Videl stopped herself, clamping her mouth shut. "I shouldn't have said that."

"Say no more, I think that Harry is finally starting." Sakura said, in a tone that meant their conversation wasn't over.

Harry stepped onto the field, clutching his wand tightly. In the center of the arena, the Hungarian Horntail was crouched over its nest of eggs, eyeing Harry with predatory interest. Harry gulped, it was now or never. He raised his wand up to the sky. "Accio Firebolt!"

For a terrifying moment, nothing happened.

"Is it a dud?" Videl asked, fairly certain that magic from Europe had more of a colorful flash to them.

The Horntail raised up its head and breathed fire at Harry, who ducked behind a boulder just in the nick of time.

"He's got good reflexes, I'll give him that." Videl praised.

"Does he have a plan B though?" Sakura asked.

"He never mentioned one." Hermione said with concern.

"Well he better come up with one quick because here it comes!" Videl exclaimed as the dragon started closing in on Harry.

"Oh boy." Sakura said just as something whooshed overhead and landed by Harry. The crowd refocused on Harry to see a sleekly designed broomstick hovering right next to him, ready to mount.

"Come on, Harry..." Hermione muttered to herself as she watched his next move on bated breath.

Wasting no time, Harry mounted his broom and kicked off the ground like he was made of air. The dragon blew fire at Harry, but he was zooming way too fast for it to catch him. As if a switch had been flipped, Sakura and Videl noticed that Harry's expression had changed from nervousness to pure glee. He was flying! And judging by his twists and pivots he was no stranger to flight either.

"Good Lord, he can fly! Are you watching this, Mr. Krum?" Bagman exclaimed.

Sakura watched as Harry made a vertical corkscrew in the air before gravity began to take over again.

The dragon tried to fly up after him, but it's iron chain collar kept it tethered to the arena. Everyone could swear that they heard Harry shout for joy.

"He's trying for the Wronski Feint!" Ron shouted, recognizing the move.

"The what?" Sakura cried over the rumbling of the crowd just as Harry dived down at the dragon spouting bursts of flames.

"It's a famous Quidditch move! Where the Seeker pretends to see the Snitch and makes the other team's Seeker chase after him! In this case, Harry is making the dragon look one way while Harry-"

At the last second, Harry ducked underneath the Horntail's fireball and swooped up, arcing right underneath the dragon and grabbed the golden egg. He zoomed past the dragon's tail, which nicked his arm, but Harry was too numb from adrenaline to care. The crowd roared louder than the dragon.

"He did it!" Hermione cried as she shook Ron violently by his collar.

"Woah! He has the reflexes of a ninja." Sakura praised.

"I was gonna say he's got the reflexes of a Kame student." Videl added.

"Both your schools are nuts." Hermione said as the judges prepared Harry's score.

"And now! The last Champion to stake his claim as the winner of the Quint Wizard Tournament! From the Hidden Leaf, Naruto Uzumaki!" Bagman announced.

"GO NARUTO!" Sakura cheered louder than any one as the crowd roared again.

"Alright. Let's see what this boyfriend of yours can do." Videl said.

Sakura immediately blushed. "H-he isn't my boyfriend!"

Videl just rolled her eyes. "Right..."

"Why does everyone always assume that?" Sakura exclaimed. Hermione and Ron became extremely interested in the process the dragon keepers took to switch out the Hungarian Horntail for the next dragon.

"I think it's kinda self-explanatory, the way you two hang around each other." Videl shrugged.

"I can't have a guy friend?"

"I'm not saying that. I'm going by the way the two of you seem to be in such close proximity. It's like you two are glued to the hips, almost."

"Psst. You wouldn't think that by the way Naruto has been avoiding me this past month." Sakura said bitterly.

Videl raised an eyebrow. "You don't know?" She asked.

"Know what?"

"I saw him about a week ago while I was training out on the lake. It looked like he was doing some private training with some old guy with long white hair and red robes."

"Professor Dumbledore?" Sakura asked.

"No, it wasn't him. He looked like he was from your neck of the woods."

"Don't know anyone who meets that description." Sakura said.

"Well, maybe someone you know does. I did see him create some house sized toad from seemingly out of nowhere like Naruto did during our weighing of the wands. I think Naruto called it a summoning jutsu." Videl mused.

 _'I fucking told you!'_ Inner screamed.

 _'Shut up.'_ Sakura thought. "Well what were you doing spying on him training?"

"I wasn't spying on him. I was doing my own training when I spotted him away from everyone else with that old guy. I watched for maybe a minute before getting back to doing my own thing." Videl stated.

"A likely story." Sakura said skeptically.

"Hey, you can ask anyone from my school, okay. They will vouch for me." Videl spat, angered from being accused like this.

"Ah huh, and if you asked anyone from my school what are powers were, they would tell you we could lift a mountain." Sakura said skeptically.

"You saying that my friends are liars?" Videl growled.

"I'm saying that they will lie for you, just like my friends would lie for me."

"No, they wouldn't! Unlike you Ninja, we don't lie our way through life."

"We don't either. A ninja is the most honest person you will ever meet." Sakura growled. "And the most loyal."

"Bullshit."

Hermione and Ron could feel the sparks flying off the two of them. It was like the Stormbringer was back and pissed off. They decided to hightail it out of the stands and find Harry in the recovery tent.

As the two girls butted heads, Naruto was finally stepping out of the tent to the roar of the crowd. He looked on and saw the entire Hogwarts school had come out to watch him along with all of the foreign schools and his class.

 _'This is it. Moment of truth.'_ Naruto thought to himself as he looked on his dragon. A hundred foot long winged beast of claws, scorching hot teeth, and black iron scales. Naruto gulped before quickly scanning the crowd for any sight of his friends. Something to reignite his courage. He found Sakura, butting heads with the Kame champion. She broke eye contact with the China girl long enough to notice Naruto giving her a little wave. She immediately waved back and Naruto felt a fire burning inside him. He gave her a thumbs-up and his famous smile.

 _'This one is for you, Sakura-chan.'_ He thought to himself. He turned to face his opponent. The Ukranian Ironbelly stood proudly over its nest as if to say, "Like you could ever take my eggs, ridiculous."

"Alright you overgrown Iguana. We can do this the easy way by you giving me the gold egg, or we can do this the hard way where I completely kick your ass." Naruto spoke.

"Is that idiot trying to talk to a dragon?" A loud and obnoxious boy seated a few rows down from Sakura and Videl called out.

Sakura threw a bottle of water at the boy.

"Zip it!" Both Sakura and Videl barked.

"Oh I'm sorry, is that your boyfriend?" The boy mockingly sniggered as his friends joined in and laughed.

Videl fired a non-lethal Ki blast at the back of the boy's head, leaving a bald spot on the back of his head. "That's a nice look for you." She smirked.

All the Gryffindors burst out laughing at Videl putting that 4th year Slytherin in his place.

Down in the pit, Naruto heard laughing, his face went flush. Thinking that everyone was laughing at him for waving at Sakura like an idiot. He probably looked so lame.

Naruto slapped his cheeks. _'I gotta focus.'_

The dragon roared in its impatience and Bagman returned to the announcer's stand.

"The final champion is about to attempt his task! Champion! Begin!" Bagman cried, igniting the crowd one last time.

Naruto immediately dropped into his stance and crossed his fingers in his signature hand sign. "Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto shouted in Japanese. Instantly, hundreds of clones were created and surrounded the dragon.

"Woah..." Videl gasped out in awe. She had never seen a technique like that before.

The students of Hogwarts, Durmstrang, Beauxbatons, and the rest of Kame were no less impressed.

"Old news. He's created a thousand before, when one of our teachers tried to betray our village to steal our most power jutsus." Sakura stated proudly.

"You're joking. The multi-form technique can only produce a dozen copies at once. And that is after years of mastering it." Videl said.

"This isn't your multi-form. This is a form of the Shadow Clone Jutsu. A technique that can create as many copies of yourself without cutting your energy equally. They are meant to be used as decoys, but since Naruto can create so many and has so much chakra, it's his main tactical advantage on the battlefield." Sakura explained.

As Sakura was explaining this, Naruto and his hundreds of clones drew their kunai at once with the sound of a thousand clinks of metal.

"Who wants some?!" Five hundred Narutos said at once. The dragon gave a roar and the crowd of orange charged at it, shouted battle cries and profanities that would make Mrs. Weasely reach for the soap. They sprinted and leapt over one another like an ocean wave of deadly teenagers.

"Let's see what this technique can do." Videl said as she watched closely.

It was a slaughter.

The Ironbelly spat fire at the oncoming crowd of ninja, hundreds of clones instantly exploded into smoke on contact with the heat. A few hundred more died when the dragon whipped its spiky tail at them. The arena was too small, they were simply too clumped together to be anything but cannon fodder.

"AAAAHHHH!" One Naruto clone cried as it ran past the flames, surviving long enough to stab at the dragon's scales with its kunai. The chakra metal bounced off the dragon like it was hitting a wall of steel. At close range, the dragon raked at its attacker with his claws, and he was dust in the wind.

"Powerful attacks and a strong defense." Videl mused. "You're boyfriend better have more tricks up his sleeve."

"He's not my…!" Sakura said before catching herself. "Don't you worry. Naruto isn't anywhere near done."

In the arena, the remaining clones were starting to fight smarter. Many had spread out and paired up in groups of two or three.

"Rasengan!" A dozen Naruto's cried as they and their partnered clones created spinning balls of chakra in their palms.

One by one they charged at the beast, waiting for openings created by their fallen comrades. Each Rasengan exploded against the hide of the dragon, yet none of them appeared to be causing any damage. The dragon just grew angrier. One pair of Naruto clones gave their third partner a boost by throwing him over the dragon's head. The monster spewed flames at the annoying bug, but the clone responded by flashing through a few quick hand signs.

"Air Bullet!" Naruto shouted as he sucked in air before spitting it back out with force of a cannon.

The two attacks collided in midair, creating an exploding inferno that killed the airborne clone while making the Ironbelly flinch too.

 _'Gotcha.'_ Naruto and all his clones thought at once. ' _This is a lot tougher fight than I thought.'_ The blonde Jinchuuriki started cackling mentally loving the challenge.

Gohan from his spot in the stands heard Naruto's thoughts using his passive telepathy monitoring him. ' _Great, another fighting junkie like dad.'_ The demi saiyan snorted aloud shaking his head.

As one, the Naruto clones flashed through their hand signs. The ones that we're particularly close to the dragon made sure to jump back before unleashing their attack.

"Air Bullet!" They cried as they unleashed thirty blasts of wind chakra on the poor dragon. Its cries shook the arena.

"Holy Shenron! It's working!" Videl cried, right before dragon flames pierced the dust and burnt the clones to a crisp.

The real Naruto had to duck behind a boulder to save his own skin.

 _'Come on, eyes on us.'_ He prayed.

"Naruto may be a Baka most of the time, but he can always dig himself out of a hole and surprise you at the last possible moment." Sakura said fondly.

Videl raised an eyebrow. "And you expect me to believe that he's just your friend when you talk about him like that?"

Sakura sighed. "He's like a brother to me. We grew up together and have been by each other's side through thick and thin. I couldn't ask for a better friend. If only I could find a guy like him."

"You already have and you're just too stubborn to realize it yet." Videl stated as the dragon destroyed the remaining clones.

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked.

"That's something you'll have to figure out on your own." Videl said simply. _'Because I'm still trying to figure out my own feelings...'_ She thought to herself as she glanced over at Gohan.

"Well, whatever. It's not important right now." Sakura waved off. "The fact is, if anyone can beat this dragon, Naruto can."

"How? The odds are stacked against him right now. Pretty much all of his clones are gone now."

"That's when Naruto has the advantage." Sakura smirked. "No matter how high the odds are against him, he will beat them and come out on top. Just you watch."

As the real Naruto endured the wrath of the Ironbelly, the crowd noticed two Shadow Clones walking sideways along the moat wall, right where the dragon's back was turned.

"Oh damn, he's got it." Videl said.

"Keep watching." Sakura said as she eyed Naruto intently.

One of Naruto's clones hung back behind the rocks while the other one crept underneath the dragon's tail. The dragon thrashed about, but kept its gaze focused on the clones in front of it. The clone was now inches away from the nest.

 _'Almost...got it...'_ The clone thought as his hands hovered over the golden egg. The crowd held its breath.

 _'Now or never.'_ Naruto thought as his clone snatched the golden egg. He hoisted the egg up and flinched. The crowd roared and the clone exploded into smoke.

"What?!" Videl cried.

The real Naruto blinked. Remembering an unbearable burning sensation in his hands.

"Son of a..." Naruto cursed, recalling how many times the dragon spat flames across the nest.

"What just happened?" Harry asked as he, Ron, and Hermione came running down the stairs to rejoin Sakura and Videl.

"I don't know. Naruto's clone had the egg, but it disappeared as soon as he held it." Sakura spoke.

"Did he loose concentration?" Hermione asked.

"No, Shadow Clones don't need any focus after they are created." Sakura stated.

"Wait, maybe the egg rejected Naruto's clone." Videl guessed.

"No, that's not it." Kakashi said, seated behind all of them.

"Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked.

"Shadow Clones are extremely sensitive to damage, the flames were periodically dowsing the eggs. After all the fighting they have been through, they are red hot. Hot enough to burn on contact. Thus the Shadow Clones can't touch them. Don't worry Naruto's already realized it," Kakashi explained pointing at the blonde Jinchuuriki.

"That's good..." Sakura breathed out.

 _'Great, so if I want the egg, I have to get it myself.'_ Naruto thought to himself.

"NARUTO!" Sakura called out.

"I KNOW, SAKURA-CHAN!" Naruto called back, knowing what she was going to tell him.

Naruto peeked his head over his boulder and immediately ducked before the dragon breath could fry him. All his remaining clones were hiding behind what bits of cover they could find. None of them knew what else to do.

 _'My Shadow Clones don't work. My Rasengans don't work. My wind jutsu only kinda works... I guess got no choice. I have to use that jutsu.'_ Naruto created a single Shadow Clone to hide behind cover with him.

"Get over here!" Naruto ordered his clone before stabbing it in the chest. The clone dispersed and the remaining four clones got the message.

"What's this? Naruto has ordered his clones to regroup!" Bagman reported. "I hope he's got a plan! He's running past 15 minutes!"

"Naruto...what are you planning..." Sakura whispered to herself.

The four clones snuck back to their leader's cover. The Ironbelly blew flames at them every chance it got. One clone got its ankle nicked by flames and dispersed. The rest made it back.

"What's the plan, boss?" One clone asked. Naruto just held up his palm and the three clones all knew.

"What is he doing? I can't see." Ron said as he tried to look over the heads of the crowd.

Videl quickly flew straight up in the air to get a better vantage point. She looked down and saw Naruto and his clones huddled around something.

Something was beginning to glow, Videl's eyes furrowed trying to focus on what he was doing. _'The_ _Kamehame Wave? That can't be possible, but the Ki build up was growing.'_

"My word, what has he got up his sleeve now? This Uzumaki boy is just full of surprises!" Bagman commented.

"Woah, wait a minute, boss. That could destroy the whole arena." One clone spoke.

"I'm not gonna use it in that way!" Naruto spat, knowing that the flames drew closer and closer with each lick.

"What is that?" Videl asked herself, eyes widening as the light was beginning to take form.

It looked like one of Naruto's Rasengans, but its spiraling chakra left a tail. Four tails. Almost like a...

"Shuriken?" Videl said to herself.

Naruto spat out the soot in his mouth and held his hand out with purpose. The jutsu in his hands was now spinning at a rapid pace and the blades were growing longer. He knew from his month training with Jiraiya that these edges were the very last thing Naruto would ever want to be cut with. He held the jutsu perpendicular to his outstretched arm, letting the blades of wind chakra dig thin trenches into the rocky arena floor. It was ready.

Naruto stood up with pride, the crowd and the dragon were taken aback by his sudden influx of courage. The beast he once hid from, now he stood tall against. Armed with a new jutsu that no one had ever seen before.

"What in the Hell is that?!" Sakura exclaimed in shock.

Kakashi on the other hand, smirked to himself. _'So, Naruto managed to complete the Rasengan.'_ Kakashi thought before looking to the sky. _'Sensei...if only you could see the man your son has become.'_

The Ukranian Ironbelly twisted its head like a curious cat, not sure of what to make of the powerful new source of magic. Naruto raised up his free hand and threw it down. As one, his remaining three clones charged at the dragon. Two quick bursts of fire and a tail whip took them all out, but Naruto kept smiling.

 _'That's the ticket.'_ Naruto thought before he dropped into a dead sprint towards the dragon's head.

"You idiot!" Videl cried out as Ron and Hermione covered their eyes.

The dragon opened its massive jaw and unleashed a torrent of flames, turning everything in front of its snout into glass. Yet the flames missed Naruto entirely. Only Kakashi and Sasuke with their Sharingan picked it up, but Naruto had been running diagonally towards the beast, just enough to get out of the path of its flames in time, but not enough to make the beast think to turn its head until the orange ninja was already upon him. The beast then whipped its spiky tail at Naruto and the boy ducked underneath, letting his knee hit the stone. The tail brushed over his hair, just like he knew it would. Naruto then leapt over the tail as it came back to strike him, again, he dodged it exceptionally. The crowd gasped.

The dragon lunged its claws at Naruto, but the ninja was quicker on the draw. He slashed at the dragon with his Rasenshuriken and the dragon howled like nothing the crowd had ever heard from before. A hunk of meat fell to the floor and Naruto leapt away unharmed, his jutsu still spinning in his right hand.

"Did he...?" Harry gasped as Hermione looked away, clutching at Ron's robes while he stood in awe.

"Oh my God. Witches and wizards! Naruto - he...he chopped the dragon's arm off! He pierced its scales! It's impossible!" Bagman proclaimed.

"What?! HOW?!" Videl exclaimed in disbelief.

Sakura gasped, sucking her voice out like the air from her lungs. Just what kind of jutsu had Naruto created? She never even dreamed something like this was possible. And Naruto...

The dragon blew flames to the heavens in rage before turning its attention back on Naruto.

"Back! Get back!" Naruto shouted, brandishing his Rasenshuriken like a lion tamer would a whip. The enraged dragon considered this before choosing to fry Naruto instead. It unleashed a plume of fire that engulfed the young Shinobi completely.

Before Sakura could call out his name, Naruto held his jutsu in front of him like a shield. The spiraling blades caught the flames and batted them aside like a fan to confetti, leaving Naruto unharmed.

The dragon receded its breath to see it's attacker standing tall and holding a pinwheel of flames in his right hand. Wherever he held his Rasenshuriken, puddles of molten stone formed. His right jacket arm was singed and in tatters. And his eyes flashed red like that of an enraged demon.

"I said..." Naruto growled. "BACK!" He ordered the dragon while slashing at it with his fire and wind enhanced Rasengan. The dragon reeled back, a cut forming across its impenetrable underbelly, yet the dragon could fly no further away thanks to the chain tethering it to the arena. Naruto slashed his jutsu again and cut the chains. The dragon backed up to the farthest corner of the arena. Satisfied. Naruto walked over to the nest and picked up the golden egg with his free left hand. His hand sizzled against the golden shell, forcing Naruto to quickly tuck the egg into his elbow, using his jacket sleeve as an oven mitt. It was still hot, but he had it.

He looked up at the stunned silent crowd and the panel of stoic judges before he realized that he still had his jutsu activated. He closed his fist and the pinwheel of flames spun itself out into a beautiful arc.

"H-he...he did it..." Videl gasped out.

"Yeah Naruto!" Kiba shouted from somewhere in the stands.

"Oh, Naruto-kun..." Hinata sighed.

"OH YEAH! THATS HOW YOU DO IT, NARUTO!" Sakura cheered, followed by many others.

"Yeah, you go, ninja!" Fred or George Weasley cheered.

The entire crowd cheered for such an amazing and incredible display that Naruto provided.

As soon as the crowd's cheers rang out, Naruto forgot all about the pain racking his body. He smiled and waved enthusiastically at the crowd, their cheers reinvigorating him better than anything the Kyuubi could provide.

The dragon keepers surged forward to subdue the injured dragon while the professors from Hogwarts came forward to usher Naruto into the medical tent.

"I'm fine, really. I'll see my own doctor." Naruto assured.

"All the same, it's standard procedure for the tournament." Professor McGonagall stated firmly as she led him out of the arena.

"No, seriously. Both my doctors are in the stands. They know more about me than you guys do, no offence." Naruto said.

"I sincerely doubt that." Professor Snape said as they made their way inside the tent.

"Please, I'm serious." Naruto spoke firmly.

"Have our nurse check you out first. Then you can go see any doctor you please." Snape sneered.

"Let him be, I'll take it from here." A voice spoke from the tent opening.

"Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked, making the two professors turn around to see the pink haired medic continue to barge in.

"And just who are you?" Snape sneered.

"Someone who is far more qualified than any nurse you have here, guaranteed." Sakura spoke as she continued towards Naruto.

"I highly doubt that. I'm afraid you will have to return to the stands with the rest of the students." McGonagall said in a no nonsense tone.

"Please try to make me." Sakura spoke defiantly as she brushed passed them and got to Naruto's side. She had noticed how cut up his arm was from that jutsu, but she put that on the back burner and began healing him.

"Well, I never." McGonagall said, obviously not used to having students talk back to her like that. But as they watched her rather unique form of healing, they saw Naruto's wounds quickly vanish before their eyes.

"All done, but you and I need to have a few words about this new jutsu of yours." Sakura spoke sternly.

"It's cool, isn't it?" Naruto smirked.

"Yeah, sure." Sakura sighed. "You know what else is cool?"

"What?"

The next thing he felt was her fist to his head. "That's for worrying me!" Sakura snapped.

"Ow!" Naruto cried, making everyone in the tent look over at the pair.

"And this!" She snapped again. Naruto braced himself for another pounding before he felt the warmth of Sakura hugging him. "Is for making it through the first task..." She spoke softly and warmly.

"S-Sakura-chan...?" Naruto said in shock.

"Shush. Don't ruin it." Sakura whispered.

Unknown to either of them, at that moment, Harry, his friends, and Videl had all walked in the tent to congratulate Naruto when Videl immediately pulled them back behind the tent flap when she saw the two ninjas hugging.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Harry asked.

"Leave Naruto alone for a moment." Videl smiled. "He's having a tender moment."

"What?" Ron asked before craning his neck over Videl to see Sakura leaning over Naruto. "Oh..."

"Let's come back later." Videl suggested.

"Doesn't look like we'll need to." Harry pointed out, noticing that Sakura had broken away from Naruto and was now staring at the four of them.

"Oh...hey guys..." Sakura blushed. She knew what this must have looked like from their end and she knew she'd never hear the end of it.

"Hey Sakura. How is Naruto doing?" Hermione asked, knowing that Sakura would be mortified by their teasing and would love nothing more than to change the subject.

"Oh, uh...he's just fine. I healed his arm and he's as good as new." Sakura replied.

"Yeah, now if only she could sew. Maybe she could repair my jacket for me." Naruto joked while holding up his singed arms.

"And what is that supposed to mean..." Sakura growled.

Naruto gulped. "Nothing." He squeaked.

"Here, allow me." Hermione said as she drew her wand.

"How can magic fix clothes?" Sakura asked.

"Um, with magic?" Harry guessed.

Sakura sweat dropped, feeling like she had just pulled a Naruto.

Hermione pointed her wand at Naruto's sleeve and recited the incantation, "Alba Reparo."

Right before their eyes, Naruto's charred jacket sleeve began to repair itself. The fabric lengthened like they were watching a vine grow on fast-forward. In just a few seconds, his clothes had returned to normal. Just as they were when Naruto had arrived for the first task.

"Sweet Sage. Thank you." Naruto said, looking at his favorite jacket once again as good as new.

"Anytime." Hermione chirped.

Sakura narrowed her eyes at Hermione, making a mental note to learn that spell.

"So what was that spell that you used against the dragon? That was brilliant!" Ron asked.

"Oh that? That wasn't a spell. That was a chakra technique that I completed." Naruto spoke.

"Yeah okay, but what was it? It looked like a buzzsaw." Harry asked.

"I call it the Rasenshuriken." Naruto said proudly. "It combines my Rasengan with my wind nature chakra and created what you saw."

"What's wind nature chakra?" Harry asked.

"A form of elemental chakra that can slice through anything." Naruto grinned.

"Huh?" Harry asked again.

"Ninja spells aren't like wizard spells, Harry. Most of them require some kind of elemental affinity, which ninjas believe is tied to the personality of the individual ninja. Earth, fire, lightning, water, and wind. Naruto is free spirited, so it makes some sense that he can use wind nature spells since he is like the wind. Sakura is more stern and adaptable, so I would guess that she is either a water or earth type." Hermione explained, sounding like she was reciting from a book.

"Both, actually." Sakura clarified. "But the question is, how the hell did you do that?"

"Simple, I-"

"Read it in a book." Ron and Harry said at the same time.

"-read it in a text book on Asian wizards." Hermione said.

Sakura snickered. "Yeah, right."

"How else do you explain it?" Hermione said, annoyed at her precious books being doubted.

"For one, anything that is related to jutsu's is in scrolls, not books. Secondly, anything regarding the use of our techniques and elemental natures are not shared with the world in any form of text, let alone anything related to a closely guarded jutsu." Sakura explained matter-of-factly.

"Well then relationships must have changed over the centuries. The book I read was at least 300 years old." Hermione said.

"If you say so, but it doesn't matter. I was asking Naruto how he was able to create this jutsu."

"Oh, well I'm curious about that myself." Hermione said, blushing.

"Well it's not all that difficult. I just combined my Rasengan with my wind chakra." Naruto said.

"There has to be more to it than that. For one, how did you even think of doing something like that?" Sakura asked.

"I um...got some advice from... Kakashi-sensei." Naruto said.

Sakura looked at him skeptically. Anytime he stumbled over his words, she knew he was trying to cover for something and/or was trying to keep a secret. She briefly looked at Videl who gave a look that said "Told you".

"Well, come on, we've got to get back outside for the scores." Ron said, coming to Naruto's rescue.

"Oh right, the judging." Naruto said quickly as he hurried out of the tent, followed by Ron, Harry and Hermione.

"I tried to tell you." Videl shrugged.

"Just shut up." Sakura said as she ran out to join them.

Videl sighed before remembering that she had an obligation to Gohan once this was over. She made her way out of the tent where she was ushered to the stands with the rest of the champions.

"How do you think we did?" Videl asked Harry as Naruto was being congratulated by all his peers.

"Personally, your performance was brilliant. I think you got the highest score." Harry said honestly.

"Nah. You did the flying thing, right? Got the fastest time too. You ought to have the highest score." Videl said.

"Yeah, Harry definitely did the best." Ron spoke up. "Cedric did this whole transfiguration thing with a rock to turn it into a dog to lure the dragon away. It worked until the end when it decided he would rather have Cedric as a snack than the Labrador. Fleur was in the same boat. She tried to charm her dragon and put it in a trance. Then it snored and shot out this great jet of fire that made her skirt catch on fire. Thankfully she had a water spell ready to go. Krum didn't even think of flying. He just hit his dragon in the eye with some sort of spell. It worked, but then the dragon went crazy and started smashing its eggs. They'll probably take points off for that. The judges didn't look too happy when that happened."

"I wonder what they'll give Naruto. He cut the hand off a dragon and took the longest." Videl mused.

"Hard to say. Blimey, I don't think anyone ever expected him to beat a dragon. My brother Charlie studies dragons and he says that you never go up against one unless you've got at least five other wizards backing you up."

"I'm beginning to believe what those ninjas say about him..." Videl murmured.

That got Harry's attention. "Why, what do they say about him?"

"That he is the most knuckleheaded, unpredictable sonofabitch out there." Videl spoke as she turned to sit with the other champions.

"Attention! Your attention please!" Bagman called out to the audience.

Everyone immediately settled down.

"Well done to each of our champions. The judges will now reveal their scores for each champion in order of their appearance. First up, Mr. Diggory." One by one the judges shot sparks up into the air to indicate their scores out of ten. Cedric ended up with a score of 53, Fleur got stuck with a score of 47, and Krum took home a score of 57.

"And now for our second lady champion, Ms. Satan!" Bagman declared.

Madame Maxime stood up first as always. With her wand she shot sparks into the air that twisted into a 9.

"Alright, Videl!" Gohan could be heard cheering over the crowd.

Next was Mr. Crouch. He also produced a 9.

"Not bad, not bad." Videl nodded.

Next was Dumbledore, who astonished everyone by awarding Videl her first perfect 10.

Videl gasped in a breath of shock while receiving cheers from her school.

Then came Mr. Bagman, who gave Videl a 7.

"What?!" Erasa shouted from the crowd.

"I'm not upset." Videl shrugged.

Next was Roshi who awarded his student with a 9.

"Gotta appear unbiased." Ron shrugged.

Next was Karkaroff, who begrudgingly gave Videl a 5.

"Oh that's bullshit..." Videl growled.

"He gave Krum a ten!" Ron shouted in indignation.

And finally, there was Tsunade, who gave Videl her second score of 10.

"That's 59 points...Videl, you're in the lead!" Gohan cheered.

Videl was completely gob smacked. She never thought that she would score so high.

"Well done, Ms. Satan!" Bagman clapped as Videl's classmates began to chant.

"SATAN! SATAN! SATAN!"

"Um...does anyone else find that a little...?" Hermione asked before she was drowned out by Bagman's voice.

"And now for our tournament's underdog! Harry Potter!"

"Yeah, Harry!" Fred and George cheered.

Madame Maxime awarded Harry with 8 points. Followed by Crouch and Dumbledore who gave him 9 apiece.

"There you go, there you go." Naruto nodded as he patted Harry on the shoulder.

Bagman then awarded Harry with a perfect 10.

"What? But I got hurt..."

"Don't complain, Harry!" Ron laughed.

Tsunade awarded 8 points also. Roshi awarded 7 points. Finally, Karkaroff gave Harry a score of 4. Earning him booes from all of Gryffindor.

"55 points, you're right behind Krum, Harry!" Ron exclaimed.

"55 Points for Harry Potter! Well done, Mr. Potter." Bagman congratulated. "Now last, but not least, Naruto Uzumaki!"

"Yeah, Naruto!" Rock Lee, Choji, and Kiba shouted as the crowd roared with applause.

Bagman awarded Naruto with 6 points.

"Kind of a low start." Sakura mumbled.

Karkaroff awarded him with 2 points. A few Shinobi hissed at that score.

Madame Maxime awarded him 5 points. The crowd had settled into a stunned silence.

Roshi felt he deserved better than that so he awarded Naruto 7 points.

That earned a few claps, but there was growing discontent in the scores.

Crouch awarded Naruto with 5 points.

Dumbledore awarded Naruto 6 points.

"What the Hell?" Ron hissed.

Naruto and Sakura only stood in stunned silence at his abysmal scoring.

Finally, Tsunade awarded Naruto with a perfect score of 10.

"A final score of 41 points, making Mr. Uzumaki in 6th place. If he continues to astound us as he has done so in future tasks, I'm more than certain he will climb up the positions." Bagman assured.

He was met with booes from students from nearly every school. Many of whom believed that the scoring was unfair.

"It is the belief of many of the judges..." Bagman hastily explained while dodging a bag of peanuts. "That Mr. Uzumaki's low score is because of his overaggressive use of force against his dragon. Permanently crippling it. He fought the dragon, rather than focus on trying to capture the golden egg."

"Oops..." Naruto said sheepishly.

"Don't oops, that's a bullshit ruling!" Sakura cried.

"No, Sakura-chan... it's a fair ruling. I did kinda go overboard."

"Against a dragon? There is no such thing." Sakura stated.

"Seriously. I beat the tar out of mine." Videl said.

"Time also plays a key role." Hermione spoke up.

"What?" Sakura asked.

"She's right." Gohan spoke. "The alluded time is at most 15 minutes. Any more time than that and points get deducted. He went over 20 minutes."

"So did Videl." Sakura said.

"She was only 16 minutes." Gohan said.

"Yet she scored the highest." Hermione pointed out.

"Save for a bruise on her cheek, she didn't get injured." Gohan reminded.

"Yeah, what about that? Are wizards biased against ninjas or something?" Videl asked.

All the resident wizards seemed to take an interest in their shoes and robes.

"Well that answers that question." Videl growled.

"Will all the champions please return to the medical tent for a final announcement!" Bagman spoke over the crowds.

"Well...that means us I guess." Videl sighed as she stood up, followed by Naruto and Harry. They joined Krum, Fleur, and Cedric in the first aid tent, all of them looking shaken, yet relieved that they had all passed their first task.

Cedric took one look at Naruto however, and his expression changed. "Oy, Naruto, right?"

"Yeah." Naruto nodded.

"I just wanna say... your spells were amazing. Your score should have been higher." Cedric said.

"Yeah, well..." Naruto sighed as he folded his arms behind his head. "No point crying over spilled milk."

"Too right." Cedric nodded.

Krum didn't say a word but gave the odd trio a nod as well. Fleur tried to look disinterested.

"Oui, I guess zu vere very brave, vacing zat dragon." Fleur said.

"You guess? Not even my Maiden Drill Cannon would have blasted through that dragon's hide. He was exceptional in his trial." Videl snapped.

Fleur just turned up her nose away from Videl.

"Tch...snob..."

The sound of a single man's clapping made all six of them turn around to face Bagman entering the tent. "Well done! Well done all of you!" Bagman laughed.

"So what's our next task?" Naruto asked.

"Funny you should mention that." Bagman smiled.

"Not really." Videl said.

"You might have noticed something peculiar about these golden eggs that you have retrieved. These aren't just trophies for you to keep, they are clues to give you a hint about your second task. The eggs open, you see, and solving the mystery of the egg will allow you to prepare for the next task. Which will take place at half past 9 on the twenty fourth of February." Bagman said. "Is that all clear?"

"Wait, they open?" Videl asked as she inspected her egg.

"Wait, don't open them here!" Bagman cried, but it was too late. Videl twisted the knob on hers, the egg opened up to revealed to be completely empty, yet it emitted a loud and screechy wail that filled the tent. Naruto and the rest of the champions dropped their eggs and desperately tried to clamp their ears shut.

"Close the egg!" Krum shouted.

"AAAAHHH!" Videl cried as she desperately tried to close the egg. With effort, she resealed the egg and stood frazzled in the middle of a room of half deaf champions.

"The fuck was that..." Videl gasped.

"That..." Bagman said as he tried to smooth out the wrinkles in his suit. "Was your clue."

"The hell kind of clue was that?!" Naruto demanded.

"The kind that you have several months to figure out." Bagman said. "Now, that is all you get. I shall big you each farewell, good luck, and I shall see you all at the Yule ball this Christmas." Bagman smiled.

They watched in stunned silence as Bagman walked out of the tent.

"Man, this sucks!" Videl growled as she tossed her egg on a cot. "The only clue we have is an ear bleeding screech."

"Oh? Iz zit not enough vor you?" Fleur smirked.

"Oh, is it for you then? Please enlighten us on your endless wisdom."

"Und vhy vould I do zat? Zhis is still a com-pet-ition. Oui?" Fleur said smugly.

"Alright, enough." Naruto spoke with authority. "Fighting about this isn't going to get anyone to the next task and faster. So just cool it! Both of you!"

"She started it!" Videl cried as Fleur turned up her nose.

"Who cares?! It doesn't matter who started it! We have months to worry about the next clue, by then we should all have figured out what it means!" But Videl wasn't listening to him. It took the combine strengths of Naruto, Harry, and Cedric just to keep Videl from lunging at Fleur.

And just like that, the first task was done.

* * *

 **Author's Note from Panda: Oh wow that one was exciting. Leave a review telling us what you think the scoring should have been and whether or not we stiffed Naruto or if we were too generous with Videl.**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6 – The Yule Ball

Nearly a month had passed since the first task was completed and things had certainly changed for the better. Ever since seeing what they were up against, all of Hogwarts (save for the Slytherins, but who gives a shit) had changed their tune about Harry. There were far less Potter STINKS buttons being worn in the hallways and even the foreign wizards were seen with much less contempt. Everywhere Videl went, people wanted to talk to her. Naruto was getting roughly the same treatment, but he couldn't help but think that he intimidated the wizards just as much as he impressed them. Whichever the case, ever since he had all but slayed that Ukrainian Ironbelly, he had the distinct feeling that he was being watched, but every time he looked to catch the perpetrator, they would vanish. Leaving behind the giggle of school girls.

"I'm telling you guys, I think the ghosts of this school have it in for me!" Naruto told his new friends one chilly afternoon that they were spending in the library. After the first task; Naruto, Videl, and Harry had come together to form one of the most unusual gangs ever seen in Hogwarts' thousand-year history. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Videl, Gohan, Naruto and Sakura all sat together at the same study table.

"I don't think it's the ghosts." Gohan said as Naruto looked back to the sound of more giggling.

"More like a fan club." Videl sighed.

"It's creepy." Naruto whined as he slumped against the table while Sakura was absentmindedly reading next to him.

"Have any of you got dates to the ball?" Ron asked, making everyone stop dead in their reading.

"Oh crap...that's only a few days away, ain't it..." Naruto gulped.

"Yes, it is." Hermione said over the sound of more giggling. "Oh really..."

"Uuuuuuugh..." Naruto moaned.

"Oh relax, it's not you this time. It's him." Hermione said irritably.

"Who?" Ron asked.

"Him." Hermione said, gesturing over to the gloomy man sitting by himself at another study table.

"Krum?" Gohan asked.

"Yes, he comes here every day to study and his own little fan club comes by to gawk at him. It's pathetic." Hermione sighed.

Videl raised an eyebrow at Sakura who shared in a quick understanding before letting the matter drop.

"Damn, I still don't have anyone to go with." Videl groaned.

"Well...uh...my offer still stands. That is, if you want to. You don't have to or anything." Gohan stammered.

"Oh..." Videl blushed. "I suppose we could."

"R-really...? I mean...we can just go as friends and just-"

"Yes." Videl said firmly. "We shall go as friends." Gohan faltered. "Good friends." Videl offered.

"Good for you guys. Glad you two buried the hatchet." Naruto said before whispering to Sakura. "Seriously, that was getting on my nerves..."

"I know what you mean. It's so frustrating when two people can't see what they have right in front of them." Sakura whispered back, making Harry, Ron, and Hermione roll their eyes so hard they almost went cross eyed.

"Well at least they are going together. No better way than to go with your friend." Naruto grinned.

"Yeah...wait, why were you panicking about the Ball? You're not going with Hinata?" Sakura asked.

"No, why would I?" Naruto asked.

"Because you've got to go with someone. And Hinata is the obvious choice." Sakura exclaimed.

"Well, there was someone else I wanted to ask, but I've been too nervous to..." Naruto admitted.

"Oh come on. You got the stones to face a freaking dragon but not ask this girl out? Show some backbone, man. I know you have one."

"I..." Naruto began to speak, but was interrupted when Sakura spotted the clock.

"Ah shoot! Is that the time? I gotta get back to the house for lessons with Lady Tsunade." Sakura said as she quickly packed up her bag.

"Go and ask this mystery girl out then. And if you can't find the courage to do that, then ask Hinata out. Promise me." Sakura said sternly to Naruto. "I know she would appreciate it." She said right before she sped out of the library. Leaving a dumbfounded Naruto sitting there with his friends.

"Who do you wanna ask?" Hermione asked.

"Let me guess, Sakura?" Videl said.

Naruto nodded. "I'm crazy about her...but every time I try to ask, she disappears..."

"Then what are you doing sitting here? Go after her!" Videl ordered.

"What's the point? She'll just reject me and then it'll make our friendship really awkward." Naruto sighed. "Maybe I should just ask Hinata out. It'd be easier..."

"Hinata is the one with the long dark hair and pale eyes, right?" Harry asked.

"Yes, why?" Naruto asked.

"Because I could have sworn I saw her get asked out by a student from Durmstrang." Harry said.

"Wait, what?" Naruto asked in shock.

"Oh yeah. And I believe she said yes." Hermione confirmed.

Naruto shot up from the table. "Seriously?!"

"Seriously. Oh really, did you expect her to always be your fallback date? She happens to be a very attractive girl. How selfish is that?" Hermione scolded.

"What? She was never my choice. I don't even like her like that."

"So, you never led her on?" Hermione raised an eyebrow.

"I don't even know what that means. I thought she was always weird. Anytime I talk to her she just faints and she's always following me around. Its creepy."

"Well she's not following you any more, mate." Ron said.

"Fine by me. But if she's not available, now what do I do?"

"Go after Sakura!" The 5 of them said at the same time.

"But...but...but..." Naruto stuttered.

"It's gonna be worse for the both of you if you don't ask her. Because you will continue through life wondering _What if._ So get off your spineless butt and go ask her already." Videl demanded.

But Naruto still wouldn't move. And that gave Hermione an idea. "Maybe Harry should ask her out if you won't."

Naruto's eyes snapped up to meet Harry's green ones. "You will do no such thing, four eyes!" He snapped without thinking.

All of them were taken aback by his sudden outburst before they watched him dash out of the door.

"Well, that got his ass in gear." Videl smirked before she started packing up her stuff.

"Where are you going?" Ron asked.

"Back to our house. Gohan and I have some things to talk about." Videl stated.

"W-we do?" Gohan sputtered.

"Yes, we do. So, come on." Videl ordered softly.

As Gohan and Videl left the hall, Naruto was sprinting away as fast as he could. If Sakura didn't have a date then this is his one and only chance to finally get a date with the girl he loved. He just hoped that she accepted. He dashed through the halls, passing by groups of friends, lone students carrying stacks of textbooks taller than they were, and swarms of girls who exploded into a fit of giggles when they saw Naruto leap over them.

 _'Giggling should be made illegal.'_ Naruto thought as he made his way outside into the snow.

"Hey, Naruto!" Kiba shouted at him.

"Not now, I'm in a hurry!" Naruto called back.

"But Akamaru and I found this cool haunted shack!"

"Later!" Naruto shouted before dodging an intense snow ball fight going on between the students from Beauxbatons and Kame. He dodged and weaved around the snowballs with ease, continuing on his way at break neck speeds.

 _'Almost there...'_ Naruto thought to himself as he quickly reached the border to the forbidden woods. Then, from out of nowhere, Lee jumped in front of Naruto looking ready to fight.

"Naruto Uzumaki. I challenge you." Lee said.

"Can't it wait? I'm in a hurry." Naruto asked after having to skid to a halt.

"What could be more important than a youthful spar between comrades?" Lee asked.

"Well, I need to take a shit. That's kinda more important." Naruto lied in fake desperation, hoping Lee would buy it.

"Perfect, Guy-sensei says that we must train under any circumstance so that we may be ready for anything." Lee smiled before leaping at Naruto.

"Son of a bitch!" Naruto cried as he fell into his taijutsu stance to defend himself.

* * *

Meanwhile at the Kame camp, Videl and Gohan were seated on the couch drinking some hot tea.

"So... what did you wanna talk about?" Gohan asked.

"Nothing too important." Videl said as she took another sip of her tea. "I just felt like chatting with you again."

Gohan nodded. It has fast become a new tradition with them. Ever since they had rekindled their friendship, they had setting aside more and more of their private time to reminiscing about their shared childhood and all the adventures they had gone on. A way to make up for lost time, they both supposed.

"So where did we leave off?" Gohan asked as he stirred in some milk for his tea.

"Planet Namek." Videl said. "You ran into the open to punch that pink alien upside the head. All to save Dende."

"Oh, Dodoria. Yeah...just seeing him practically torture those defenseless Namekians just set me off." Gohan said, still sour at remembering that.

"Yeah, but did you see the look on that spikey headed freaks face?" Videl laughed. "I swear, it had to be the highlight of the whole trip."

"I don't know. Seeing my Dad beat up the Ginyu Force was pretty satisfying." Gohan admitted.

"True, before he...had his body stolen." Videl sweat dropped.

"Yeah, that part got weird." Gohan said.

"No, what got weird was Freeza's transformation, more specifically, his third form. That looked like something out of Alien."

"Oh that's the movie it was from." Gohan said, pounding his fist into his hand. "It looked so similar, but I could never place it."

"Seriously? Piccolo practically gave it away when he said Ridley Scott was going to sue someone."

"Who's Ridley Scott?"

"Damn it, Gohan. You're hopeless."

"What? I'm a brainiac in everything else, just not trivia." Gohan shrugged.

"Dude, it's common knowledge that Ridley Scott is the one who created Alien."

"Oh yeah? And what other movies did he make?"

"Blade Runner, The Martian, Gladiator, Thelma and Louise, Black Hawk Down, Hannibal, G.I. Jane. Any of these ringing a bell or do I need to pull out my smart phone?" Videl listed off.

"I watched Black Hawk Down and Gladiator, can't say the same for the others. You know how my mom is..."

"I'm surprised she let you watch those two at all, knowing how she is."

"Gladiator had some historical importance." Gohan reminded.

Videl shrugged. "Fair enough."

"Black Hawk Down I saw while at Master Roshi's when dad was sick."

"That explains it. We didn't watch any of those movies together, did we?"

"Black Hawk we did. We watched it when mom was sleeping and you got me up so we could go watch it."

"Oh that's right! I can't believe I forgot that." Videl realized.

"To be fair, the Androids and Cell were during that time and I try to forget it as much as possible."

Videl sighed and took Gohan's hand into hers. "Gohan...your dad dying wasn't your fault."

"I know, I'm over it. I got over it while the two of us stopped being... stopped hanging out."

Videl felt her heart sink when she remembered that the reason why they stopped being friends was because of how childish she acted. As usual, Gohan was always there for her whenever things got tough. And how did she thank him? By ostracizing him. All because she was too nosey for her own good.

"Gohan...I'm really sorry for the Hell and heartache I put you through..." Videl said, her voice full of regret.

"I know." Gohan nodded as he poured himself another cup of tea. He then chuckled when he remembered something stupid.

"What's so funny?" Videl asked.

"No, it's nothing." Gohan said. "You'd think it was stupid."

"Just tell me."

"Okay, you remember when I was fighting Cell? You saw me for the first time after a week apart to train. And I hadn't seen you in over a year?"

"Yeah...what about it?"

Gohan chuckled. He remembered the days leading up to that meeting at the Cell games. It had been over a year for him since he had last seen Videl. Not that she had been far from his mind that whole year. Especially during his rare alone time when his dad was doing his own training and Gohan had the bedroom to himself. And the copy of Videl's picture he kept on his person because that was what all boys did, keep pictures of their best friends on them. Not that he was gonna tell Videl about that. "I um, when I first realized I would have to go Super Saiyan in front of you. When the jig would be up. I remember clearly thinking..."

"What?" Videl laughed.

"That when I defeated Cell. If I defeated Cell. I would turn back to you looking all cool like and bruised."

 _'That you would run up and hug me.'_ He thought.

"That you would think it was so cool that I was part alien and had all these powers." He finished.

Videl snickered. "You're a dork."

"Oh come on, what boy doesn't fantasize about standing around like a superhero?"

"Is that why you became Great Saiyaman?" Videl chuckled.

"I think that was a mix of Superman and me being traumatized by the Ginyu Force." Gohan admitted.

"Yeah, I noticed." Videl smirked.

"It's seriously cool to save a kid from a burning building though. They are so grateful." Gohan said.

"Too bad adults are not as enthusiastic." Videl grumbled. "Remember that fat woman who tried to sue you for touching her?"

"Not really. How did that go again?"

"It was 9 months ago. You were saving a whole bunch of people from a burning skyscraper. She was one of the ones you flew down from the top floor and the whole way down, she was screaming for you to let her go."

"Oh right. To be honest I wasn't paying attention. She was screaming the whole way down and I just tuned her out at some point." Gohan shrugged.

"You do remember that she tried to have you arrested for sexual assault, right?"

"Is that why the police was always after me?" Gohan asked.

"Yeah until I talked some sense into that woman by threatening to put her away for abusing the legal system. So you owe me."

"Thanks." Gohan smiled.

"Heh. Thank me by not regretting going to the dance with you."

"Oh please, I would never do that." Gohan said. "I plan on being the perfect gentleman."

"Oh are you now?" Videl teased.

"Would you doubt me?"

"Maybe a little bit." Videl smirked.

"Thanks." Gohan said playfully.

"I also seem to recall that after you got out of the time chamber, you ran up and hugged me." Videl reminded.

"I don't remember that." Gohan said.

"It was at the Cell Games ring."

"I think I would remember something like that."

Gohan tried remembering back to that day and he seemed to remember being overjoyed to see Videl after spending a year in the time chamber that he...

"Oh..." Gohan blushed.

Videl did something Gohan hasn't seen her do in many years. She giggled. She giggled like a little school girl.

"Did...did you just...giggle?" Gohan asked, making Videl blush.

"Uh...n-no... of course not. That's what little girls do."

"Okay, little girl, because you totally just giggled." Gohan smirked.

"N-no I didn't!" Videl exclaimed, her face completely red. She turned away in a huff, but felt her hand being taken into a pair of large, strong, rough hands.

"You did...and it was kinda cute..." Gohan spoke softly.

"Wha-what?" Videl sputtered, taken aback by his sudden touch. His hands were so rough for such a bookworm. It was his training of course, but she was expecting them to be much gentler.

She looked up into his eyes. His onyx black eyes that she had seen so many times, but something was different about them. They were softer, gentle, full of care and devotion. Eyes she had never seen before. She has seen eyes from guys that were full of lust and other perverse thoughts, but not his.

Soon, she found herself lost in them. She couldn't look away they were so mesmerizing. Without her even knowing it, she started inching closer to him.

Gohan was also inching closer as well. Just like Videl, he was lost in her cerulean blue eyes. the same eyes he had always seen. They sparkled off the room lights like the sun off the ocean on a sunny day. The same eyes he had always thought about. Day in and day out, they were always on his mind. Seeing them again, like this, along with her scent that his Saiyan enhanced senses made several times stronger, made Videl like an addictive drug to her and he couldn't keep away.

Soon, their faces were mere inches apart. they couldn't break apart. Not that they wanted to. All that mattered to them was themselves. the world could burn around them for all they cared. Until...

"Hey guys! Dinner is ready!" Erasa called stepping into the living room.

With that, Videl and Gohan immediately pulled away, their faces completely red from what almost happened.

Erasa saw this and a wide smirk grew across her face. "Uh huh...and what were you two doing?"

"Nothing, shut up." Videl snapped, standing up.

"Sure didn't look like nothing." Erasa giggled.

"Well it was nothing now!" Videl snapped before walking around.

Erasa smirked as Videl stormed off. Once she was good and out of earshot did Erasa turn back to Gohan. "I'm glad you two finally made up. Seriously."

"Me too...Kami knows how glad I am." Gohan smiled.

"Just be careful. You push too hard and she might bounce you back. Nobody wants to see that." Erasa warned.

"Believe me, I'm taking my time with this. I'm not sure what just happened."

Erasa sighed. "You really are hopeless."

"What?" He asked.

"Nothing." Erasa waved off. "Come on, they are serving rib eye steaks tonight."

That was the only excuse Gohan needed to bolt right passed her, nearly sending her into a rapid spin.

* * *

Back with Naruto, he had successfully knocked Lee on his ass after a rushed, full out spar that left Lee feeling dizzy and Naruto panting.

"Wow...that was a good spar." Lee gasped.

"Yeah..." Naruto said as he spat out a tooth. "Same time next week?"

"Totally." Lee said, finally letting Naruto go. He continued on to the ninja camp feeling calmed down somewhat thanks to that fight. He smiled when he could see the four-story castle but his glee turned sour the moment he spotted his four least favorite people crowding around the front door to the house.

"Oy!" The gentle giant Juugo called for Naruto's attention.

 _'Oh not now...'_ Naruto thought.

"Naruto!" Juugo called out.

"I'm in hurry, can it wait?" Naruto asked.

"Sasuke wants to speak with you." Juugo said, pointing to Sasuke, like a good little doggie.

"Of course, he does..." Naruto rolled his eyes.

"You're sounding a little cocky there, Fox boy." Seigetsu said. Naruto raised an eyebrow when he noticed the bright red slap mark across the swordsman's cheek.

"And you can kiss my ass." Naruto shot back before glaring at Sasuke. "What do you want, Teme?"

Sasuke finally quit pretending that he wasn't listening and turned to face Naruto. "I just wanted to congratulate you on your victory at the first task. 6th place, was it? Out of a roster that was only supposed to contain five." Sasuke said.

"It's not my fault they deducted so many points from me." Naruto grumbled.

"Yeah it is, it's because you're a Dead Last loser." Suigetsu sneered.

Naruto sighed. "Listen, if you're done bullying me, I've got something to do." He said as he tried to move past Suigetsu.

"Where do you think you're going, Dobe? I'm not done with you." Sasuke spoke.

"Too bad. I'm done with you." Naruto spat.

There was a slice of metal and Naruto felt the ice-cold tip of Sasuke's blade sticking to his throat.

"You know, I gotta ask, why now?" Naruto inquired coolly.

"What do you mean?" Sasuke growled.

"It's been a month since the first task. Why harass me now? You finally work up the courage after realizing that my Rasenshuriken beats your Chidori?" Naruto asked.

"My Chidori-"

"Couldn't ever pierce dragon scales. Few things ever could. But my jutsu did." Naruto said, his eyes narrow, shining like blue flames. "Face it, Teme. I might be in last place, but you're beneath me now." Naruto shoved aside Sasuke's blade, who let it swing to the ground, still in his hand.

"You'd best watch yourself, Dobe. That new sharp tongue of yours might just cut you." Sasuke spat as he resheathed his sword.

"I'm sure." Naruto said as he brushed past Karin and left Sasuke's gang out in the cold.

Naruto shut the door behind him and kicked the snow off his shoes. _'Damn that felt good.'_ Naruto thought as he untied his wool scarf. The wooden house and it's burning hearth felt so warm against his frigid skin.

"Oh, Naruto." Tsunade greeted him as she came down the stairs.

"Hey, Granny. Where's Sakura-chan?" Naruto greeted as he worked on taking off his coat.

"Upstairs in her room. She's doing some studying I gave her so don't disturb her." Tsunade said as she headed for the kitchen.

"But there is something very important I have to ask her." Naruto protested.

"How important? Is this another one of your stupid pranks?" Tsunade asked, narrowing her eyes at the infamous prankster.

"What I have to ask her is no prank. This is 100% serious." Naruto stated seriously.

"If you're so serious, then what is it?" Tsunade pressed.

Naruto blushed heavily and he shuffled around. "I...I uh...well...I..."

"Geez, are you a man or not? Spit it out already!" Tsunade snapped.

Naruto gulped. "I...wanna ask her...to the Ball..."

"What? Say that again!" Tsunade cocked an ear.

"I said I wanna ask Sakura-chan to the Ball." Naruto repeated.

"Now THAT'S the tone I wanna hear when you ask her out!" Tsunade exclaimed, patting Naruto on the shoulder. "None of this wimpy stuttering. Straight backed and proud like a man."

"Uhhh...right, of course." Naruto said, a little confused.

Tsunade walked into the kitchen, leaving Naruto to venture upstairs towards Sakura's room.

He made his way up to the third floor where the girls had divided up the third floor into six smaller rooms with the help of paper walls. Naruto found Sakura's room by the sight of Sakura petals painted on the door. He gave a quick knock.

"Come in." Sakura said. Naruto gulped and opened the door.

It was a sight Naruto had come to love. The sight of Sakura, sitting sideways to the door, at her desk, studying something medical no doubt, but looking so focused and dedicated. He loved that look on her face. Not only that, but Naruto could spot a black iron lizard sitting up next to Sakura's text book. It was the mini Ukrainian Ironbelly dragon that Naruto had picked from a bag for his first task. It wasn't a real dragon, just a transfigured pebble or something. Yet it ate, slept, breathed fire, and played like a real animal so Naruto and the other champions were allowed to keep them as pets. Sakura was currently feeding "Ironclaw" a piece of lettuce, which he was gleefully nipping at.

"Hey, Sakura-chan." Naruto spoke.

Sakura turned to see her long time best friend at the door and smiled. "What's up? I thought you would be hanging out with the others."

"Well, couple of reasons, actually. Come to find out, Hinata already has a date." Naruto informed.

"What? Hinata? Our Hinata? With who?" Sakura exclaimed. She stood up in shock and kept a hold of Ironclaw's lettuce, much to the mini dragon's dismay.

"A guy from Durmstrang."

"You're kidding me? Oh that's terrible. I mean it's good for her, I never thought she would be bold enough to meet new people like that. I mean... go to the Ball with a European boy? That just seems so out of left field for her. But that sucks for you. I'm sorry, Naruto." Sakura said quickly.

"It's fine. Because I decided to ask out the girl I really wanted to ask."

Sakura smiled. "Good for you, Naruto. But...why are you here instead of asking her out?"

"I um..."

"For Sage's sake, Naruto. If you don't ask her soon, and firmly, she'll never accept. Then you'll be the only champion without a date." Sakura scolded.

"The girl I wanna ask is right in front of me." Naruto spoke, catching Sakura completely off guard.

"W-what...? Wait, what? What?! Me?!" Sakura sputtered, completely in shock.

"Yes..." Naruto said as he stepped forward. "You."

Sakura stepped back and nearly tripped over her chair. _'Wow, aren't we quick to forget.'_ Inner spoke. _'Don't you remember the night you spied on Naruto when he was held by the dumbass patrol?'_

 _'Shut the Hell up right now!'_ Sakura thought frantically.

"Sakura-chan..." Naruto said, taking another step forward. "I know you prefer to think of us as just friends, but there is honestly no other girl in the whole world I would rather go with to the Yule ball than you. You've been my best friend for as long as I can remember. So..." Naruto caught himself. He couldn't say it. Not yet. "So I would be honored if you would accompany me to the dance."

 _'Whoa-ho, where did this elegant gentleman come from?'_ Inner thought.

 _'I-I don't know...what should I do?'_ Sakura asked as she took a step back, knocking over one of her smaller books off the table.

 _'Well, you can do what you normally do and hit him through the ceiling. You can say no and shatter his heart. Or...'_

 _'No, I can't do that...he's been through enough as it is...'_ Sakura said sadly.

 _'Well then your only way forward is clear. The question is...do you want to?'_ Inner asked.

 _'I mean...'_ Sakura paused when she remembered that night when Sasuke and his gang of asshats confronted Naruto. There she remembered as clear as day when she heard him say that he has feelings for her. For the last few months, she had put that out of her mind. But she remembered that when she heard it, it reignited some lost feelings of her own. She couldn't say no to him now.

"Um, Sakura-chan?" Naruto spoke, Sakura had gone quite for several seconds now, telling him that she was conversing with her inner self. Which could be a good or bad thing for him.

"Yes." Sakura said softly.

"Excuse me?" Naruto asked, certain that he hadn't heard that right.

"Yes." Sakura repeated. "I will go to the dance with you. Yes." She repeated like a broken record, each time she said it she found the word to be easier to say.

"Are you serious?" Naruto said like a lit firework, ready to explode.

"Yes." Sakura smiled.

"Whoohoo!" Naruto cried as he did a triple backflip, his feet scuffing the ceiling and making him loose his balance. He collapsed into a pile right outside Sakura's bedroom. "Ow."

Sakura grabbed her stomach to try and silence her giggles, but she couldn't stop them. The tension in the room evaporated, only to rear its ugly head one final time.

"Wait..." Naruto said. "You mean, just as friends, right?" He asked, like a man slipping on the edge.

"No." Sakura said automatically.

Naruto and Ironclaw had to do a double take at Sakura, who now had her hands over her mouth.

"We can go as a date." Sakura squeaked out, not believing the words coming so naturally out of her mouth.

"I'm sorry, what? I don't think I heard that right." Naruto said in utter shock.

 _'No backing out now.'_ Inner thought with glee.

"I said, we can go as a date...and see where the evening takes us..." Sakura said, her cheeks became redder than her outfit.

"R-really?" Naruto asked. All the way back in Hogwarts, students could swear that they heard someone scream yes. "You won't regret this, Sakura-chan!"

Sakura couldn't help but giggle at his antics. It was all too cute the way he literally jumped for joy.

"The hell is going on up here?" They heard Ino ask from the doorway.

"Um...nothing." Sakura waved off.

"Well, good. Because Tenten and I are going to find you a date for the Ball." Ino said firmly before grabbing a scroll from her pocket. "Now we made a list of possible candidates, all of them are quite cute and-"

"Forget it, Pig." Sakura smirked.

"No, Forehead. You are going to the Ball and that's final." Ino snapped firmly.

Sakura and Naruto just traded smirks. This was too good.

"I know, I was already planning to go." Sakura shrugged. Ironclaw leapt off the table and snatched Sakura's piece of lettuce out of her hand.

"Then you can look at this list and select a few free guys."

"I don't need to." Sakura said uninterested.

"Well you aren't going alone. That will just make you look awkward."

"I don't plan on it. I have a date, just so you know." Sakura smirked.

"Yeah, sure you do." Ino said, unconvinced. That was when she saw both Naruto and Sakura laughing.

"Hey! This isn't something to laugh about." Ino protested.

"Pig, let me fill you in on something." Sakura snickered. "Naruto just asked me out and I accepted."

"What? Seriously?!" Ino exclaimed.

"Believe it." Naruto smirked as Ironclaw blew flames in agreement.

"But...Forehead, he's not exactly boyfriend material." Ino reminded.

"Mmmm...true, he's not." Sakura mused.

"You know I'm standing right here." Naruto grumbled.

"Oh relax, Naruto. I was just teasing." Sakura waved off. "Look, Pig. I'm not focusing on that right now. The Yule ball will be our first date and we'll see what happens after that."

Naruto just giggled to himself when Sakura-chan called it their first date.

"And what if it becomes more than that?" Ino pressed.

"Well, then I'll just have to whip his ass into boyfriend shape now won't I?" Sakura smirked.

"I suppose you will, oh stop giggling, Naruto. It's creepy." Ino said.

Naruto tried, but couldn't help himself.

"Oh, to Hell with this." Ino said as she grabbed Naruto's arm and threw him out of Sakura's room.

"What the Hell was that for?" Sakura protested

"I couldn't stand him giggling like an idiot at the idea of getting to date you. I was right, you're going to need to do some serious whipping." Ino said.

"That's if it does turn out to be something more than a date. I don't want to rush this." Sakura responded.

"Oh be still my heart. You're not thinking of...you know? With Naruto?"

"No!" Sakura cried. "For Sages Sake, Pig, get your mind out of the gutter. We haven't even started dating and you're already talking about sex."

"It's bound to happen sooner or later. You two have been glued to the hips since we were kids." Ino reminded.

"And? That doesn't mean I'm gonna drop my pants and say 'Hey Naruto. Come fuck me' as soon as the ball is over."

The two of them then heard someone trip outside of Sakura's room.

"Guess he heard that." Ino snickered

"Yeah, well. It's not going to happen right now." Sakura said firmly as she opened her trunk.

"But it is going to happen eventually." Ino smirked.

"I don't know! It might, but it's far too early to even think of that. I'm focusing on the here and now, not what might or might not happen." Sakura ranted.

"You said might, that means yes, which means you've already thought of it." Ino smirked.

"Oh for fuck sake...no I haven't thought about it! And even if I did, it wouldn't happen for a long time."

"And how long is a long time?" Ino asked as Ironclaw nipped at her fingers.

"I don't know! A year? After marriage? I don't really know, Pig. Just because you liked to let every guy into your pants after the first date doesn't mean I'm gonna do the same. If he wants it, then he will have to work for it. Now will you please just stop talking about my sex life? It's getting on my nerves."

"Fine. We can talk later when Tenten and I are squeezing you into a kimono. Those are always fun bonding times." Ino said as Ironclaw bit her finger. "OUCH!"

"Haha! Even Ironclaw is getting tired of your crap." Sakura laughed.

"Swear to god if he ruins my nails on the night of the ball I'll turn him into a leather glove." Ino stated.

"Well considering he was transfigured from a pebble I doubt that will work."

"I'll make it work." Ino snapped.

* * *

Some time had passed and now it was the night of the Ball. Every girl in attendance was busy fussing over what to wear and how to look for their dates while others were trying hard to find a date. This was also the case at the Kame and Leaf camps. At the Leaf camp, In and Tenten were hard at work getting Sakura ready for her very first date.

"Forehead, will you hold still? I can't get this eyeliner on you with you squirming around like that." Ino scolded.

"And you're fussing too much. This is Naruto here! He isn't going to care what I look like. And I really have to pee and I can't go with you two in here." Sakura protested. 3 hours in the girl's bathroom getting all dressed up and she had about enough.

"Hold it until we're done." Ino said firmly.

There was a light rapping at the door. "Ino? Can I come in?" Hinata spoke.

"Kinda busy, Hinata. What is it?" Ino responded.

"Well I need the mirror as well."

"Alright, come in." Ino spoke.

The door slides open to reveal Hinata wearing a beautiful midnight blue kimono with twinkling stars designed on her dress. Even without make-up she looked annoyingly flawless.

"Wow, you look great, Hinata." Tenten smiled.

"Thank you, Tenten. You're all looking amazing as well." Hinata said politely.

"Come on, Ino!" Sakura protested.

"Almost done, relax." Ino snapped.

"Who are you going with, Sakura?" Hinata asked.

"Oh...um...Naruto..." Sakura said softly.

Hinata went wide eyed at Sakura before smiling. "Well that's nice. I'm glad he was able to finally ask you out."

"Hold on... you're not angry or upset?" Tenten asked.

"Yeah, you've had a crush on him since we were little." Ino added.

"I know it seems like I should be, but I'm not. After waiting for years for him to return my feelings, I decided to move on. Seeing as he has been in love with Sakura for just as long." Hinata explained as she used a small corner of the mirror to do her makeup.

"W-what...? He...he loves...me?" Sakura gasped out.

Hinata put her hand over her mouth. "Oh dear...I shouldn't have said that...I thought you knew."

"No...I thought he just had a crush on me...I didn't know it was full blown love..."

"That's what I've been trying to tell you for five years." Ino said.

"Oh God...he's been in love with me this whole time and I never noticed...now I feel like shit..." Sakura sighed sadly.

"Hey don't feel bad." Hinata said as she started on her eyeliner. "The fact that you're giving him a chance now is more than he could have ever asked for. I'm more than certain he's ecstatic to finally have the chance to be with you in more ways than being just friends."

"Yeah, don't beat yourself up, Forehead. You even told me this morning that you may have feelings for him. Let this night play out and who knows? He might try to slip a little tongue." Ino teased.

"Ino!" Sakura cried, making her jump.

"Great! Now her eyeliner slipped!" Tenten cried. "Hinata, would you mind shutting down her chakra nodes? That might keep her still."

"Oh Hell no! Everyone out, now! I have to go before I explode!" Sakura ordered.

* * *

One floor below them, Neji was getting slapped upside the head for staring at the ceiling.

"Would you quit doing that? It's bad enough the girls don't believe us when we say you're a pervert. You aren't getting the satisfaction of doing it in front of us." Shikamaru scolded.

"I'll do what I want." Neji snapped.

"I'll gouge out your eyes if you peep on Ino again." Choji said.

"And I'll turn you into ribbons with my Rasenshuriken if you spy on Sakura-chan anymore." Naruto added.

"I'm not spying on them. I'm spying on Tenten. My date." Neji said.

"And in turn, the others are right in the same room, leaving them as collateral damage to your peeping eyes." Shikamaru stated.

"And Hinata is in there, too. That's just gross man. Seeing everything your cousin has." Kiba added.

"You're just jealous, Kiba." Neji said.

"Dude...ew..." Choji spoke.

Naruto just rolled his eyes. He couldn't focus on this, he had to get ready. The Ball would start in an hour and he still hadn't figured out how to put on his tie.

* * *

Meanwhile, at the Kame camp, things were no less hectic.

"E...I think you went a little overboard with the make-up." Videl sweat dropped as she looked at the mirror, her entire face covered in vibrant colors.

"Oh, nonsense. You look great." Erasa smiled.

"No, I don't! You made me look like Krusty the fucking Clown!"

"Yeah, it is a little much." Alyx admitted.

"Great...the ball starts in an hour and we don't have time to redo her makeup." Erasa huffed.

"Let me do it." Angela sighed.

"Move over." Alyx said as she brought a wash cloth to Videl's face.

"The secret to make-up is to make it look like you aren't wearing any at all." She said as she started to reapply Videl's blush.

"But that makes her too plain. She has to stand out." Erasa protested.

"Not looking like Dee Schnider I don't." Videl grumbled.

"Who?" Erasa asked.

"Lead singer and band leader of Twisted Sister." Alyx said.

"Yeah, part of his skit is dressing in drag on stage." Videl added.

"Oh, like Eddie Izzard?" Erasa asked.

"Sort of...except Twisted Sister is a rock band." Videl clarified.

"Okay, close your mouth and pucker up, Videl." Alyx instructed as she got a tube of red lipstick ready.

"I can do that myself. I'm not helpless." Videl protested.

"Just do it." Alyx sighed.

* * *

As the girls were getting ready, Gohan was in another hut with the rest of the guys waiting for their dates.

"How did you do it?" Sharpner asked Gohan sourly.

"Oh, well you just have to remember the rhymn. The rabbit goes into the hole, around the tree-"

"Not that!" Sharpner snapped.

"What's wrong?" Gohan asked.

"He means how did you get a date with Videl." Dave spoke.

"Yes...I have tried getting into her for years and I thought I had it made when she started avoiding you. Then something happened and now you two are going out? What is it you have that I don't?!" Sharpner snapped.

"We're just going as friends. Plus you always come off as a creep." Gohan said matter-of-factly.

Sharpner growled. "That's not a good enough answer!"

"But it's the one you're getting. There is a big difference between us on how we view female companionship and yours is flawed." Gohan said calmly.

"Your face is flawed." Sharpner spat.

"That's the kind of immature response I expect from you, Sharpner. When are you going to grow up?"

"Your attention, please!" Erasa called from the doorway to the boys' house, making everyone turned to see her. "Us girls are finally ready, so without any further ado, let me introduce your dates for the night starting with Alyx!" She announced before stepping aside to let Alyx in.

Alyx wore a purple strapless dress that showed off a fair amount of cleavage. The bottom of the dress was flared out and came down to about half way down her thighs, giving her legs plenty of sunlight. Her brown hair was tied up into a braided ponytail and her shoes were 6-inch heels, also purple in color, that were open toed. Dave could only look on in awe at his date. It was a complete transformation from the skinny jeans and grey t-shirt she normally wore when not training.

"Alyx...you look...amazing..." Dave gasped out.

Alyx giggled a very un-Alyx like giggle. Thanks, David. You look pretty handsome yourself."

Alyx walked over to Dave where he proceeded to take her arm into his.

"And now, Angela!" Erasa announced as Angela stepped inside, making Pen's jaw drop. She wore a form fitting strapless light pink tube dress that stopped just above her knees, her hair was loose and curly with light makeup on her face, making her eyes and lips pop to show her true beauty.

"Whoa, whoa, wow." Pen said.

Angela smiled as she walked up to Pen.

"And now, probably the most amazing transformation out of all of us, Videl!" Erasa announced.

Gohan gulped nervously before she stepped through the door, making his eyes pop out

The first thing Gohan noticed was her face. She had a very light shade of blue eyeliner that was lightly applied, her eyelashes were dark and long, really making her eyes standout more than he had ever seen. Her cheeks were a like Rosey pink, either from the cold or make-up, either way, they were beautiful. Her lips were a vivid shade of fire engine red that really made them stand out. His eyes trailed down from her face to her shoulders. She wore a thick and fluffy swan white scarf that hid her shoulders and would keep her warm in the cold, but the bust of her crimson red Chinese dress showed off only a little bit of square shaped cleavage to keep her modesty. The dress itself was form fitting and like Angela's, it hugged her form midway down her thighs. He could also see where she was wearing dark colored pantyhose to show the shape of her legs while not actually showing skin. And her shoes were flat bottom pumps that were the same color as her dress.

In other words. She was drop dead gorgeous.

"Woah..." Gohan breathed out.

Videl blushed. "Please don't stare at me... I don't think I look that great."

"You look like a million Zenni." Gohan said. Videl blushed harder, but with a soft smile. Gohan stepped up to Videl and offered her his arm. Videl smiled and gladly accepted while Sharpner did the same for Erasa.

"Alright, let's get going." Erasa ordered.

* * *

Back in the Leaf camp, Kakashi had come downstairs and helped Naruto tie his tie. Now they were just waiting for the girls to come downstairs.

"Man, I wonder what Sakura-chan would look like." Naruto wondered impatiently.

"You'll see soon enough, I'm sure." Kakashi said as he heard footsteps on the stairs.

Lady Tsunade came down in a beautiful silver kimono that didn't nothing if not accentuate her breasts. She looked on at the boys all decked out in their best suits and various attempts at combing their hair.

"You look handsome, boys. Now check out some of your dates." Tsunade smiled as more footsteps could be heard.

The first to come down was Tenten, wearing an emerald green strapless Chinese dress with a long skirt that opened up along her thighs. She had on matching flat shoes.

Kiba whistled. "Not bad, Tenten."

"Thanks, Kiba." Tenten said as she took Neji's arm and rested her head against his shoulder.

The next one to come down was Hinata.

She wore her beautiful midnight blue kimono with a twinkling star design and matching shoes. Her hair was done up in a bun like a princess with a deep blue eyeliner and ruby red lipstick.

"Wow..." Choji breathed out, voicing all of the men's opinions save for Kakashi and Neji.

Then came Ino.

She wore a purple kimono with dozens of intricate Cosmo flower designs stitched in with a yellow sash across her belly. In her hair she had two silver needles holding up her long pony tail.

"Wow, Ino. You look amazing." Lee complimented.

"Thank you, Lee." Ino smiled as she took Sai's arm. "How do you think I look?"

"Hmmm..." Sai said as he looked over at Naruto who desperately pointed at a poster that Kiba had set up.

"Poster perfect." Sai said.

"Awww..." Ino gushed before kissing him on the cheek. "Tonight, I'll do that thing you really like..." She whispered to him.

"Shutting up?" Sai asked, but thankfully, Ino wasn't listening.

Next was Karin.

She wore a Satan red kimono with a white vest across her belly and the design of fans along the fabric. As much as the guys might despise her, they couldn't deny that she looked gorgeous with her matching red glasses. She swaggered over to Sasuke and took his arm in her own.

Sasuke didn't say a word. He just let Karin hang on his arm. Karin however acted like she won the damn lottery and nuzzled her cheek against Sasuke's chest.

Finally, the last one was...

"S-Sakura-chan...?" Naruto breathed out when he saw her. Her hair was done up like a princess, with two golden pins holding up her pink hair. Her bangs framed her face, which had just the right amount of make-up on to make her features pop. There was something about her tonight that made her eyes look like green diamonds to Naruto. She wore a pink kimono with a red sash and had a gust of Sakura petals flowing around her body. The dress was moderate, but hugged her figure in all the right places. She looked like a princess to Naruto.

"Hey, Naruto..." Sakura smiled.

"Sakura-chan..." Naruto breathed out as he took her hands. "Here I thought you could never look any more beautiful..."

Sakura giggled. "Thank you. And I never thought I'd say this, but you look very handsome."

Naruto smiled. "Thanks. Now let's get this date started." He said as he took Sakura by her arm. "Shall we, M'lady?"

Sakura laughed. "Of course, Sir." She smiled as she took her best friend's arm. She was delighted to feel his muscles had gotten stronger ever since his training increased from the tournament.

"Gag me..." Sasuke muttered.

Sakura heard what he said and sighed before untangling herself from Naruto. "Excuse me for a second."

Naruto let her go and Sakura walked calmly up to Sasuke and slugged him right in the eye. So fast not even his Sharingan could counter it.

"The next time you give Naruto a hard time...it will be 20 times harder. Do you understand me." Sakura growled with utmost hatred dripping from her voice.

Naruto couldn't help but smirk when Sakura punched Sasuke in the face like that.

"You bitch!" Karin shouted.

"I got plenty for you too, four-eyes! Try me!" Sakura snapped.

"Alright, that's enough." Tsunade said. "Last thing we need is for the rest of the schools to see us fighting amongst ourselves."

Sakura shot a death glare at Karin before walking back to Naruto. "Come on, let's go."

Sakura allowed herself to be escorted away by Naruto, only looking back once to stick her tongue out at Sasuke and his gang.

The crew stepped outside into the pitch-black winter wilderness. With only the far-off glow of the Hogwarts castle lights to guide them. Naruto and Sakura led the pack, stepping arm in arm and forced to stay delightfully close together to combat the December winds.

Every new gust and deep pocket of snow that the two had to walk through, Sakura found herself moving closer to Naruto, whose torso was like a furnace hidden beneath his formal jacket.

"Kinda jealous of those Kame students...they can fly." Sakura shivered.

"I don't know. I kinda like this. Just a nice peaceful walk to the castle for the ball. It's like something out of a fairy tale." Naruto said.

Sakura laughed. "Yeah, it kinda does..." She said before laying her head on his shoulder. "And I'm happy that it's with someone like you..."

"Hmmm... And I'm happy that you're happy." Naruto said as he rested his head against hers.

 _'And you constantly denied you liked him. Do you see how happy you are?'_ Inner said.

 _'Well I never expected a date with him would be so romantic.'_

 _'Because you were too stubborn to give him a chance.'_

 _'And I hate myself for it...I should have listened to you and gave him a chance years ago... You were right all along.'_

 _'That's all I need to hear. Now enjoy yourself.'_ Inner spoke before fading away.

 _'Inner?'_ Sakura asked. But there was no answer.

 _'Huh.'_ Sakura thought before she slid on a rock. She would have fallen on her butt if Naruto hadn't caught her.

"Whoa there!" Naruto smiled.

"Heh...thanks." Sakura chuckled in embarrassment.

"Do my eyes deceive me?" A voice called out from across the field.

They both looked up to see Videl with none other than Gohan.

"Well, look who it is." Naruto smiled.

"I should say the same for you." Videl smiled. "You and Sakura, huh? How about that." She smirked at Sakura.

"Yeah, yeah, yuk it up." Sakura said sarcastically.

"I won't yuk it up. You two look adorable together." Videl smiled.

"Same for you. I thought you hated Gohan." Sakura commented.

"We had a long talk and worked things out." Videl smiled. "What about your two? I thought you only thought of Naruto as your best friend?"

"Um...yeah, so did I..." Sakura blushed.

Videl giggled. "Good. Now we can all dance in the Champions' Opening Dance."

"Wait, what?" Naruto and Sakura both asked.

"Wait, you two didn't know? The champions and their dates have the first dance." Gohan spoke.

"No!" Naruto cried. "I don't know how to dance!"

"Well now is a Hell of a time to say that! I could have taught you!" Sakura exclaimed before she remembered something. "Shit...I don't know how to dance either..."

"So then how would you...? Never mind." Naruto said.

"Well, you better learn fast because it's a requirement. Naruto should have been told about it months ago." Videl stated.

"Well they didn't. They told you?" Naruto asked.

"Obviously. That's how I knew about it."

"Then why wasn't I told?"

"I don't know. They should have told you." Videl mused.

"Unless they couldn't find you and they told Sasuke..." Sakura grumbled.

Naruto grit his teeth. "I wouldn't doubt it..."

"Sasuke? Who's he?" Videl asked as the four of them started walking again.

Sakura pointed behind them at the guy with the black spiky hair in the shape of a duck's tail feathers. "That's Sasuke..."

"That handsome kid? Come on, he can't be that petty." Videl said.

"Videl...don't you sense anything strange about him?" Gohan asked, his face grown serious.

Videl attuned her senses and she picked up something rather dark. "Now that you mention it, I do..."

"What?" Naruto asked.

"We can sense a dark energy surrounding him. He also seems to be hiding something...something that doesn't sit right with me." Gohan said seriously. "I would keep a close eye on him."

"Yeah, thanks for the tip. We already knew that he was an asshole." Naruto said.

"It's more than just that...it's something sinister." Videl clarified.

Naruto and Sakura looked at each other before looking back at Sasuke.

"Impossible. Sasuke is a Leaf ninja." Naruto said.

"I'm just telling you what we can sense. To be honest, it sends shivers down my spine." Videl spoke.

"Sasuke may be a bully and a jerk, but he's still our comrade. He's not evil." Naruto insisted.

"I hope you're right." Gohan said.

"I know I'm right." Naruto said. "Come on, it's cold out here."

"Yeah, let's just forget about this for now. My toes are frozen." Sakura agreed.

"Need me to carry you?" Naruto smirked, reveling at the idea of carrying Sakura inside the castle like a princess.

"No, I'm good." Sakura waved off.

"Wow, you two are really hitting it off, huh?" Videl smiled.

"I wouldn't say that. The night is still young yet." Sakura blushed as they walked into the courtyard.

"Well, the night is about to get started right. Say, where is that Harry kid? I thought we would have seen him by now." Videl wondered.

"We agreed to meet him inside." Naruto said.

"Ah. Alright. So, you really don't know how to dance? Even Gohan learned." Videl snickered.

"My mother made me learn..." Gohan sighed.

"Yeah, thanks for rubbing it in." Sakura said.

"It's not hard. Just move your bodies and feet to the rhythm of the music." Gohan instructed.

"And try to follow along with everyone else." Videl added.

"Simple enough. Just another infiltration mission." Naruto said as the group came upon a train of carriages leading from the Beauxbatons' main carriage where all the students slept, to the front gates of Hogwarts.

"Oh boy...I don't do well with crowds..." Gohan admitted.

"Oh, you'll be fine. Just hold my hand and focus on me." Videl said.

Gohan gulped and gently took Videl's hand. Almost instantly, he started to settle down.

 _'Wow...I... I don't feel as nervous anymore.'_ Gohan thought.

"What's that?" Videl asked.

"Huh? I didn't say anything." Gohan said.

"Really? I could have sworn... never mind." Videl waved off. Probably just all the people talking.

They made their way up the steps, past a well-dressed Durmstrang student yelling for the attention of Hinata, and made their way inside.

"Wait, that's your date?!" Sakura exclaimed in awe.

"Um, yes?" Hinata said meekly.

"Damn, Hinata...he's handsome." Ino said honestly.

The Durmstrang boy turned to Hinata. Evidently, he didn't speak a word of Japanese. Hinata quickly flashed through a series of hand signs. "Beklager, Erik. Dette er mine venner. De var bare komplimentere på hvor stilig du er." Hinata spoke in Norwegian, the native language of her date's school.

The boy named Erik smiled in understanding and the two began to talk rapidly in his native tongue, letting the rest of the group head into the castle. Naruto and Sakura had to gasp. The hallways looked beautiful, all decorated for Christmas. With mistletoe and holly draping the walls. Wreaths hung up on every door. Candles burning brightly overhead. Little icicles hung from the ceiling. The portraits were all dressed in holiday clothes and drinking heavily. And the suits of armor were polished to a mirror shine and singing _Jingle All The Way_.

Naruto and Sakura finally reached the entrance of what was the dining hall. There they spotted Ron and Harry wearing their dress robes. Harry looked very spiffy in his modern black dress robe and Ron...

Ron was wearing a dark orange dress robe that looked to be at least 5 decades out of style with enough lace trim to cloth a production of Swan Lake.

"Whoa, Ron, betto o ushinatta?" Naruto laughed.

"Huh?" Ron asked, looking over to see Naruto and Sakura standing before them with Videl and Gohan picking up the rear.

"Naruto? Sakura?" Harry asked.

"Matte, watashitachi o rikai dekimasu ka?" Sakura asked.

"Again, huh?" Ron repeated.

Naruto slapped his forehead and flashed through a series of hand signs. Followed by Sakura who repeated the jutsu. "Can you understand us now?"

"Yeah, now we can. What was that?" Ron asked.

"Yeah, that was our bad. We forgot to activate our translation jutsu today." Sakura blushed.

"Translation jutsu?" Harry asked.

"A spell that automatically translates our language into the language of the person we are speaking to. Makes foreign communication a breeze. It even translates what you are saying to us into Japanese." Sakura explained.

"Speaking of which..." Naruto said before looking at Gohan and Videl. "What do you use for translation?"

"Nothing. We're actually speaking English right now." Gohan said.

"Gohan knows 42 languages and taught us all. He even knows Russian." Videl smiled.

"I'm only fluent in ten of them, though." Gohan blushed.

"Yet you were carrying on a perfect conversation with that German guy before we came here."

"Yes, German is one of the languages I'm fluent in. That and English, Japanese, French, and a bit of Norwegian."

"Really? You speak Japanese?" Sakura asked.

"Kaiwa o suru ni wa jūbundesu." Gohan said.

"Uwa ̄, inshō-tekidakedo, anatagata no hōgen de chotto seishiki ni kikoeru yo." Sakura complimented.

"I'm sorry, what?" Gohan laughed, switching back to English.

"I said...Huh, impressive, but you sound a little formal with your dialect." Sakura repeated in English thanks to her jutsu.

"I see, thanks. I'm sorry, your accent tripped me up a bit." Gohan said.

"No problem. It's still very impressive." Sakura said.

"So yeah, as I was saying. Did you lose a bet, Ron?" Naruto asked, alluding to Ron's ugly as sin dress robes.

"Did your mom accidentally send you your sisters dress?" Sakura asked.

Ron just groaned. "No, it's my families traditional dress robes..."

"From when? The 1800s?" Naruto snickered, making Ron's freckled cheeks turn as red as his hair. Harry shot a silent plea at Naruto and Sakura, begging them to drop their teasing of Ron's dress robes.

"Ahem." Sakura coughed. "Well just say that you lost a bet and no one should think less of you." She offered.

"I guess..." Ron sighed.

"Well, let's get going." Videl said, now starting to feel nervous.

"Wait, we gotta wait for Harry and Ron's dates." Sakura said.

"Yeah, and where is Hermione?" Naruto asked.

"I think she's right there." Gohan said, pointing up the stairs. All eyes looked upward and stopped the Durmstrang Champion Victor Krum, smiling and descending down the main staircase arm in arm with a beautiful young woman by his side. Her hair was done up in chocolate brown curls, her make-up was lightly applied, and she wore a gorgeous frilly pink ball gown and matching shoes. If Sakura looked like a Japanese princess then this girl looked like a European princess.

"Ron, Harry!" She waved at the two dumbstruck Hogwarts students.

"Hermione!?" Ron exclaimed.

"Wow...you look great, Hermione." Naruto commented.

"Oh, thank you Naruto. You look handsome too. And Sakura!" Hermione said, looking over at everyone. "I knew you two would get together. It was so obvious."

"Heh...yeah, we've been getting that a lot." Sakura blushed.

"Well you look amazing." Hermione said, eyeing Sakura's dress.

"You do too. If I didn't know you I would never have guessed that you were the same academic girl I always meet in the library."

"Thank you." Hermione smiled.

"The dance will start soon. We should get in position." Krum suggested.

"Krum, isn't it?" Sakura asked. "Isn't this a coincidence?"

"What is?" Krum asked.

"You asked out Hermione. Who is best friends with Harry. Who is a Champion. And is friends with Naruto. And other Champion."

"Yes. I guess that is a bit amusing." Krum said, smiling a bit. "Her-my-oh-ninny has told me so much about you two and Harry." Krum said while Ron muttered to himself.

"Did she now? All good things I hope." Naruto smiled.

"Yes. She did mention that you are bit of an idiot." Krum spoke, making everyone laugh.

"Oh yeah, that never gets old." Naruto grumbled.

"Oh, lighten up." Sakura giggled. "We're here to have a good time, so let's enjoy ourselves."

"Let's." Videl said.

"Hello Harry." They all heard two cheerful voices say in unison.

The entourage stopped to watch Harry and Ron's dates finally arrive. Parvati and Padma Patil. Two beautiful 4th year students dressed in matching Indian dresses. Parvati immediately took Harry's hand while Padma took Ron's.

 _'Huh...didn't see that coming.'_ The group thought as one.

"Twins, who'd a thunk it?" Naruto muttered.

"Not me. That was a first for me." Sakura admitted.

"You ever notice that we don't have twins in the Leaf?" Naruto asked.

"Oh, we do. They are just few and far between."

"Like who?"

"Like the Hyuga. You see them with twins all the time." Sakura said.

"No, you don't." Hinata said.

"Excuse me?" Sakura asked.

"There hasn't been a twin birth in my clan since my father and uncle."

"Then why do I always see pairs of Hyuga clansmen sharing classes in the Academy?"

"Because they are all cousins." Hinata said.

Sakura deadpanned. "It's really hard to keep track of how one Hyuga is related to the other."

"And that we all look alike?" Hinata asked.

"Yeah...not to be insulting."

"None taken." Hinata said as she led her date inside the ball room.

"Well..." Naruto said. "Shall we?"

Sakura smiled and nodded as she let Naruto lead her inside. The doors opened by themselves to a room no one could recognize. The dining hall had been decked out for the ball like nothing anyone had ever seen before. Golden chandeliers hung overhead and beneath a magically enchanted ceiling that showed a perfect view of the night sky, a million stars twinkled overhead. The walls of the Hall had all been covered in sparkling silver frost, with hundreds of garlands of mistletoe and ivy crossing the starry black ceiling. The House tables had vanished; instead, there were about a hundred smaller, lantern-lit ones, each seating about a dozen people.

"Champions, over here!" Professor McGonagall called to gather their attention to the center of the ball room.

The six champions and their dates headed straight for the center of the Ball room where Naruto and Sakura took notice of the way Gohan and Videl were holding each other.

"Okay, so...your hand on my hip. And my hand on your shoulder." Sakura whispered, suddenly wondering if her kimono could accommodate their western dancing style.

"My hand on your where?" Naruto sputtered.

Sakura guided his hand directly on to her waist, overlapping her butt and lower back. "Your hand there." Sakura hissed.

Naruto couldn't help but gulp. He had never had his hands anywhere near the position it was in now on Sakura.

"Don't enjoy this too much." Sakura said with a growl.

"N-not my intention, Sakura-chan. Believe me." Naruto said quickly.

"Good." Sakura smiled with her eyes closed. "I don't want you to turn into a pervert. Or think that I'm easy."

"Never...I would never do anything to make you feel uncomfortable." Naruto smiled warmly.

"Good." Sakura smiled as she took Naruto's free hand with her own and held it out, just like Videl and Gohan were doing.

Naruto took her free hand with his just in time for the music to start playing. It was a classical tune played by a full orchestra. As one all the Champions and their partners danced. The men leading, twirling their dates around them. It was right out of Cinderella.

At first, Sakura couldn't keep pace with how restrictive her dress was to her legs, so Naruto discreetly twirled her off her feet, allowing her to release one of her legs and dance normally. After that, the two were in sync. Carefully, they spied on the other dancers to see what they had to do and mimicked them. After a few minutes, Sakura caught Naruto's eye as he looked down at her. His blue eyes caught in the fairy lights, making them shine like the ocean.

 _'Wow...he has gorgeous eyes...'_ Sakura thought. She had never even given it a second thought before, but now looking at him, she was seeing him in a completely different light.

He smiled down at her like she was the most beautiful thing in the world. She looked so vulnerable staring up at him. Naruto had never seen this side of her before. He wanted to protect it with his life.

"Naruto..." Sakura whispered.

"Hmm...?" Naruto asked.

"There is something...I want to tell you..."

"What is it?"

"You're squeezing my hand too tight..."

"Oh!" Naruto jumped as he loosened his grip. Sakura giggled at his actions.

Meanwhile, Gohan and Videl were in their own little world. Gohan couldn't tear himself away from Videl's eyes he was so lost in them. Likewise, for Videl, Gohan's eyes were like black holes. They drew her in and she couldn't escape.

"Ow!" Someone cried, snapping them both out of their trance. They looked down to see that Gohan had accidently stepped on another dancing couple's toes.

"Sorry." Gohan said.

"You oaf, watch where you're stepping." A blond boy hissed. Videl recognized him as the same boy in green who gave Naruto a hard time back in the first task.

"Hey, he said sorry. So back off." Videl hissed.

"Excuse you" The boy's date hissed, not wanted to draw to much attention on the dance floor.

"No, excuse you. You best move away before I practice my knot tying on your arms." Videl hissed back, making the boy grow pale.

Unknown to either of them, Harry overheard this and couldn't help but smirk.

"What are you smiling at?" Parvati whispered.

"It's nothing." Harry whispered back.

* * *

Sometime later, the music had long since changed over from classical to soft rock and pop. Most of the students figured this was as good of a time as any to sit and eat, especially when Gohan's stomach started growling so loud it was starting to drown out the music.

The Champions and their dates were lead to the head table at the back of the Great Hall where the Headmasters were all seated. Videl, Gohan, Naruto, and Sakura all took their seats next to Master Roshi and Lady Tsunade.

"Whew...this is a lot more fun than I thought." Videl said happily, having never been to a dance before.

"Glad you kids are enjoying yourselves." Tsunade smiled as she downed her latest saucer of sake.

"I am, for sure. How about you Go-" Videl paused when she saw him devouring a magic plate of food. "Never a dull moment..." She sighed.

"Someone figured out the trick." Roshi smirked. He leaned forward to his empty golden plate and said. "Pork chops." Instantly the plate filled with Roshi's chosen dish, complete with a side of rolls and some irresistible vegetables.

"Just ask for anything you want from the menu." Tsunade said, holding up the piece of paper provided.

"Hmm...let's see." Sakura said as she opened the menu. The print was so tiny that she couldn't make it out even squinting. "And I forgot my contacts...great..."

"I've got you, Sakura-chan." Naruto said as he leaned over to list off the choices on the menu for her.

"Hmm...not much in the line of Asian food here...wait, what's spaghetti?" Naruto asked. Immediately, his plate filled up with a mess of pasta, red tomato sauce and several meatballs.

"I guess that answers my question." Naruto said.

"That actually looks good." Sakura said honestly.

"You want it? I also had my eye in the prime rib eye steak." Naruto said.

"Let's share this one." Sakura offered, sending Naruto reeling.

"L-like...?" Naruto stuttered.

"Not like Lady and the Tramp." Sakura said. "It's only the first date."

"Well, so was there's." Tsunade said, butting in and pointing out the Chinese couple seated across the table from the rest of them. Naruto and Sakura looked over to see Videl and Gohan feeding each other spoonful's of French onion soup.

"W-well... I don't think-"

"Oh quit being prudish. Your 17, live a little." Tsunade lectured.

"God, you are worse than Ino sometimes."

"But Ino doesn't control your training schedule." Tsunade said simply as she poured herself another saucer of sake. "All I'm saying is... you're only young once. If you let moments like this pass you by because you are more focused on a career you won't have until you're 25, it will be a long time before they come around again. I made that mistake too many times..."

"For Sage's sake, Lady Tsunade. It's the first date." Sakura hissed.

"Okay, fine, geez." Tsunade said.

Sakura turned away from her to face Naruto who held up a fork of spaghetti.

"What are you doing?" Sakura asked.

"Feeding you. Like you said we would." Naruto said.

Sakura blushed. "That...isn't what I meant..."

"Huh? What did you mean?" Naruto turned his head to the side like a confused puppy.

"We eat off the same plate to try it."

"Aww...but it looks like fun." Naruto pouted as he pointed out Gohan and Videl.

Sakura saw the two Kame students feeding each other and laughing while they did so. It really looked like they were having a good time and it was their first date as well.

"Oh...fine..." Sakura sighed.

"Alright, here comes the choo-choo train." Naruto smiled.

Sakura didn't seem amused by his wording.

"Just joking." Naruto laughed.

Sakura opened her mouth and closed her eyes. A deep red blush adorned her face as she did this. She never did this for anyone, except her parents when she was a baby or was very sick.

Ever so carefully, Naruto slipped the fork into Sakura's mouth. Her pink lips closed around the fork and her face lit up at the flavor.

"Mmmm..." Sakura moaned. It was probably one of the most delicious dishes she had ever tasted.

"I've never heard that reaction to someone eating spaghetti." Tsunade chuckled.

"Well, I've never had it before." Sakura retorted.

"Well you've convinced me to try out their spaghetti." Tsunade smirked as she ordered herself a plate.

"Is it really that good? It looks like someone took ramen and covered it in blood and bull balls." Naruto commented as he moved it around his plate.

Sakura snickered. "Believe me, it's good. And you need to start trying different foods."

Sakura held up a fork full of pasta on top of a meatball and held it out for Naruto to eat.

Naruto smiled and clamped his mouth over Sakura's fork.

Sakura giggled as she gently pulled her fork back and watched Naruto's face light up.

There was a slam and they both jumped. A quick inspection revealed that Fleur had slapped the table as she was talking to her Hogwarts date about something. To which the veela charmed boy responded by slapping the table himself.

"Yeah! Just like that!" He said.

"Is something wrong?" Tsunade asked.

"Huh? Oh, nuzzing." Fleur waved off before continuing to complain about how much better the Beauxbaton's castle was compared to Hogwarts.

"Well, not to be rude, but you are disrupting my students first date." Tsunade spoke as she pointed out Naruto and Sakura staring at Fleur and her date.

"And you are disrupting mine." Fleur responded. "But zis is not zee place for private conversations, no?"

"No, it is not." Tsunade spoke, starting to get annoyed with this snobby girl.

Naruto and Sakura just ignored them and continued feeding each other. Which actually turned out to be a lot of fun. They decided to feed each other at the same time, not knowing there was a long string of pasta connecting them together.

 _'Oh come on.'_ Harry thought.

 _'How beautifully cliche.'_ Tsunade thought.

Their attention was on other things as they continued to munch on the noodle, drawing them in closer and closer.

They finally met eyes, pausing to take in the situation, and the noodle broke apart in Sakura's mouth, letting it drape across Naruto's chin.

"Uh...uh..." Sakura stuttered, completely embarrassed.

Naruto just slurped up his extra-long noodle and laughed.

Sakura cleared her throat before sitting up straight. "Let's just...take one fork full at a time from now on."

"Sounds good." Naruto said good natured-ly.

 _'Those two are going to end up together, I just know it.'_ Tsunade smiled in thought as she watched Sakura get into a giggling fit.

"Well, that was a little close." Sakura joked.

"Almost too close for comfort." Naruto joked.

"Yeah, just a little bit." Sakura chuckled.

"Yeah. Maybe we should try again." Naruto laughed without thinking.

Sakura immediately stopped laughing. "What? What did you say?"

"I said what have they got for dessert? I could kill for a slice of cake." Naruto said quickly.

"No, that isn't what you said. I heard it, but I want you to confirm it."

"I uh...I wasn't...I wasn't thinking before I spoke..." Naruto said nervously.

Sakura took in a deep breath and sighed. "Naruto...let me ask you something. I was there the night Sasuke confronted you about being chosen as the champion over him."

Naruto gulped. "Y-you were?"

"Yes, I was. So was Shikamaru." Sakura nodded.

"Um...what all did you hear?"

"All of it." Sakura spoke as she took a sip of her pumpkin juice.

Naruto took his own cup and swirled his drink around. "Can we talk about this privately?"

"Yes, let's go." Sakura spoke. She stood up to leave when out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Gohan and Videl sharing their first kiss.

"Ahem..." Sakura cleared her throat, getting Videl's attention. She quickly pulled away and blushed.

"Heh...didn't know you were there..."

"Just a friend, huh?" Sakura smirked before she started to lead Naruto outside.

"Uh...well...not anymore..." Videl stammered.

"I can see that." Sakura smiled. "I'm happy for you two."

"Thank you." Videl smiled. "You two seem to be doing the same."

"No, we just need to talk about something in private." Sakura stated seriously before walking off with Naruto in tow.

"That doesn't bode well." Gohan said.

"I don't know. Did you see that look in her eye? Naruto is about to get lucky. You mark my words." Videl said.

"She doesn't seem like that kind of girl, honestly." Gohan mused as he searched for her feelings.

"I don't mean that way." Videl said. "He'll get lucky by PG-13 standards."

"That might not even happen. Her mind seems to be clouded with doubt and concern. Something tells me their date is about to end on a bad note." Gohan mused.

"You don't know enough about girls, Gohan." Videl said.

"Maybe not...but her emotions tell me enough."

"Her emotions are fickle. Trust me." Videl assured.

* * *

Meanwhile, Sakura had led Naruto out to the gardens where very few if any people were around.

"This is good enough." Sakura said. Naruto nodded as he brushed snow off a bench and took a seat.

"I heard you tell Sasuke that you have feelings for me... I want to know a couple things. First, is that true?" Sakura asked.

Naruto sighed deeply. "Yes, it is..."

Sakura's breath hitched when he had confirmed it. "When...? How...?"

"Ever since we were kids and you invited me to play on the swings." Naruto said. Remembering that day fondly.

* * *

 _He was only five years old and had been on the run from the ANBU for half a day now. Some angry adults from the village had chased him out and Naruto was hiding deep inside the east park forest, inside one of the hollowed-out trees out of sight from the playground. His stomach was rumbling and his mind was swirling with hurtful thoughts as he hugged his knees._

 _'Stupid villagers. Hate me for no reason. I oughta just run away and never come back.' Naruto thought to himself. It's not like the Old Man Hokage would care. No one in the orphanage cared. Why should Naruto care?_

 _That was when he heard the sound of twigs snapping. It must have been the ANBU, they found him. Well Naruto wasn't going to give up so easily. He quickly stood up to flee, only to bump his head on the roof of the tree._

 _"Ouch!" Naruto cried._

 _"Who's there?" A cute voice called out. Naruto's eyes went wide. That wasn't the sound of an adult's voice. That was a girl's voice. A girl his age he would bet._

 _Before Naruto's curiosity could get the better of him, a tiny head of pink hair popped itself around the corner of the tree opening and Naruto laid eyes on her for the first time. She was honestly the cutest girl Naruto had ever seen. All the girls he had seen at the orphanage, or walking the streets with their parents, or playing on the playground, none of them could compare to this girl. With her big green eyes that sparkled with intelligence and curiosity, she stared at Naruto. This mysterious and dirty looking boy with hair as blond as sunshine._

 _"You're not a monster." Five-year-old Sakura said matter-of-factly._

 _"Huh?" Naruto asked meekly. What was that girl talking about? Of course, he was a monster. That's what most of the adults in the village called him anyway. Either to his face or behind his back._

 _"A monster. My friends told me there was a monster in these woods and if I went in and saw it I would get scared and scream. But I'm not a scaredy-cat, I told them. I'm brave. But if you're the monster, then I don't think I'd have to be brave to not get scared of you." Sakura said a mile a minute._

 _"I'm not..." Naruto caught himself. Remembering what Old Man Hokage always said. "I'm Naruto. Naruto Uzumaki."_

 _The girl giggled. "I'm Sakura. Sakura Haruno." She smiled, making Naruto feel something funny in his tummy._

 _"So Naruto, what are you doing out here? Do you live here? Have you seen any monster around here?" She asked as quickly as before._

 _"Um...I don't live here. No, I haven't seen any monsters. And I'm hiding." Naruto answered out of order._

 _"No monsters. I knew that Kiba was a liar." Sakura stated. "Shame. I wanted to prove that I was brave. Are you playing hide and seek?"_

 _"I guess so." Naruto said, just realizing how easily he answered this girl's questions over any adult's questions. What kind of jutsu did she have over him._

 _"Are you winning?" Sakura asked._

 _"I don't feel like I'm winning." Naruto admitted._

 _"Oh." Sakura said sadly. "Why don't you take a break from hide and seek and come play with me on the swings? I bet I can fly higher than you!" Sakura challenged._

 _Twice now in as many minutes, this girl made Naruto's eyes go wide. "Y-you want to play with me?"_

 _"Of course!" Sakura smiled. "Why wouldn't I?"_

 _Naruto just looked at his scraped-up knees. "Well...what if I was a monster?"_

 _"Then you'd be the nicest looking monster I've ever seen. And I'd still want to be friends with the least scary monster." Sakura stated._

 _Naruto went wide eyed again. "F-friends...?"_

 _"Yeah, so long as you promise to be my friend." Sakura smiled as she held out her hand._

 _Naruto wore the biggest grin Sakura had ever seen before he took her hand. "Of course! I will always be your friend!" He cheered_

 _"You'd better. Come on!" Sakura said as she ran with Naruto being dragged along for the ride._

* * *

Sakura remembered that day well, like it was yesterday. "You've...had feelings for me for that long...? Why haven't you told me before?"

"You were chasing after Sasuke...I didn't want to get in the way." Naruto admitted.

"Naruto, no. Don't think that way..." Sakura pleaded as she sat down next to him. "I was merely on the bandwagon with all the other girls. I didn't want to feel left out. I never really had feelings for him."

Naruto went wide eyed when Sakura said that. "You...you didn't?"

"No! I could never like that asshat. He was always so mean to you and still is to this day..."

"Yeah, but you... So long as I could always have you as a friend, that would be enough for me." Naruto said.

"Naruto, don't settle on second best with me. Just be honest and open with me. I always have been with you, haven't I?"

Naruto grimaced. It was true, she had, but he hadn't. Not with everything. This was a chance for him to get a little bit of his lies off his chest.

The next thing Naruto felt was a gentle hand on his. "You can tell me anything..."

Naruto leaned his cheek into Sakura's soft hand. He felt his face burning through the biting Christmas time cold of the outdoors. "I know, but what I want to say... You'd think it was stupid."

"Naruto...after years of being around you, I'm open minded about everything." Sakura spoke softly.

"Okay..." Naruto sighed. "Full disclosure, no consequences. If I had my way. If it would make you happy. I would marry you. Straight away. I'd buy you a big house. I'd be the breadwinner as Hokage or Jounin. And we'd raise a family together. A big or small family, I don't care which, I'd just make sure that our kids would never have the upbringing I did. I'd make you the happiest woman in the Leaf. If only so that you would never leave me."

Naruto closed his eyes and waited for the anvil to drop. For Sakura to berate him for thinking too far ahead and assuming so much more. He waited, but nothing came. He peeked his eyes open and saw Sakura smiling at him.

"Would you settle for dating me first?" Sakura asked.

"W-what...? You mean you're not..."

"Mad? Naruto, that was a very sweet thing for you to say...I could never be mad about that. And besides..." Sakura paused before gently kissing him on the cheek. "You already make me the happiest woman in the Leaf..." She whispered.

Naruto's eyes went as wide as the moon as he looked down at Sakura, whose smile could bring light and warmth to the dark side of the moon. The chilly winter winds picked up and the two found themselves moving closer together. They just couldn't get enough of each other's warmth.

"And I could never leave you...never..." Sakura spoke softly. Her eyes sparkling off the moonlight.

* * *

Meanwhile, back at the great hall, the dance was still carrying on with happy party goers. Well...mostly happy.

Gohan and Videl were tearing up the dance floor. Nearly knocking kids off their feet with a swing of their hips, until they remembered to tone it down. Likewise, Hermione and Krum were dancing like fools to the songs played by the wizard rock band Wicked Sisters. All the while her two best friends Harry and Ron were sitting at their table with their dates. Ron was angrily watching Hermione and Krum dance while Harry was trying not to make it obvious that he was watching Cedric Diggory dance with Cho Chang, the beautiful Ravenclaw girl.

"Are you going to dance with me or not?" Ron's date Padma asked him.

"No..." Ron sighed.

"And you?" Harry's date Parvati asked him.

"Sorry, what?" Harry asked, not having heard what she said.

"Forget it." She said as she and her sister headed off to dance with a few boys from Durmstrang.

"Well this sure was a waste of time..." Harry sighed.

Ron respond with a kind of ticked off growl.

"Yeah, sure..." Ron mumbled.

Just as they were about to get up, Hermione came and sat down, totally exhausted.

"Isn't it hot?" Hermione smiled, breathlessly. "Victor went to fetch us punch."

Videl came and sat down as well, although, a lot less winded than Hermione. "Gohan is getting punch. You guys want some?" She asked.

"We're fine." Ron said.

"Hey, where did your dates go?" Videl asked as she looked around for them.

"They kind of... left us." Harry said.

"Oh...oh well, that's how it happens sometimes." Videl sighed.

"Yeah." Harry said, even when he didn't sound too broken up about it.

Videl could tell that he wasn't very upset about it. She followed his gaze to an Asian girl dancing with Cedric and connected the dots. "Ooohh...oh man...well...I'm not sure what to say to that, Harry. Honestly I don't."

"What? No, it's nothing." Harry said.

Videl wanted to help, but felt that she should stop where she was. Harry is her competition, after all. But in instances like this, she didn't care. So, she just nodded in understanding and dropped the issue.

"So I see you and Gohan really hit it off tonight." Hermione commented.

"Oh? And what makes you say that?" Videl asked.

"Well, I could see you snogging from the other side of the Champion's table." Hermione said.

Videl blushed when she was reminded of that. "Oh god...how many people saw that?"

"Everyone." Harry said. "Anyone looking at the Champion's table anyway."

"Dammit..." Videl groaned. "Oh well, it was worth it."

"I'll say. You both look so cute together." Hermione sighed.

"Well...I guess my feelings we're a lot stronger for him than I thought..." Videl sighed contently.

"Good for you." Ron spoke sourly.

The girls looked back to stare at him.

"What's up your butt?" Videl asked.

"Ron, please. This is supposed to be a happy occasion." Hermione said.

"So go be happy with 'Viktor.' See if I care." Ron snapped.

"What's gotten into you?" Hermione exclaimed.

"Me? You're the one getting all chummy with Vikky!"

"Don't call him that!" Hermione snapped. "And so what that I'm getting chummy with him?"

"He's from Durmstrang! He's competing against Harry! Against Hogwarts! You're- you're-" Ron sputtered, pointing a finger at Hermione. "Fraternizing with the enemy!"

Hermione's mouth fell open.

"Don't be stupid!" She cried. "The enemy- honestly. Who was the one so excited to get his autograph when he first came here? Or has his stupid figurine in your bedroom?"

"Fraternizing with the enemy?" Videl snapped. "You don't have a problem with me or Naruto and we're competing against Harry and Hogwarts!"

"Yeah! Are they the enemy, too?!" Hermione demanded.

"They're fine. But you... this Krum guy probably stacked you in the library to ask you out." Ron said.

"As a matter of fact, he did. He's been coming to the library every day to see me and ask me to the ball, but it took him months to pluck up the courage!" Hermione exclaimed.

"You don't think that he's trying to figure out stuff about Harry through you?"

"For your information, Ron. He hasn't asked me ONE THING about Harry!"

"Then he wants your help in figuring out the egg!"

"He hasn't asked me about his egg either! And I want Harry to win, I'll have you know!" Hermione stated.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Ron? Are you jealous that Hermione didn't go with you or something?" Videl asked, her arms folded across her chest.

"You stay out of this!" Ron snapped at Videl.

"Next time, ask me out sooner. And not as a last resort." Hermione stated, her voice shaking as she stomped away.

"Seriously, Ron. That's not cool." Videl spoke bitterly before getting up to find Gohan.

"Let's just go, Harry." Ron grumbled as he stood up.

The two made their way to the courtyard out in the bitter cold. The soft glow of fairy lights illuminated the rose gardens as Harry and Ron found themselves surrounded by bushes; winding, ornamental paths; and large stone statues. Harry could hear splashing water, which sounded like a fountain. Here and there, people were sitting on carved benches. He and Ron set off along one of the winding paths through the rosebushes, but they had gone only a short way when they heard a familiar voice.

"Oh Sage... Naruto..." A girl sighed.

They looked over to see Naruto and Sakura together on a park bench, having a very heated make-out session. They could see Naruto nipping at Sakura's neck, eliciting moans from her.

"Whoops." Harry squeaked, completely embarrassed. The two lovers immediately looked up when they heard someone's voice. When they spotted Harry and Ron, the immediately blushed and Sakura tried to hide her face.

Naruto gave them a polite wave and when he was certain that Sakura couldn't see him he made a very harsh pointer finger. _'Get. Going.'_ Naruto thought at the two boys.

They nodded quickly before dashing away, hoping to not make their encounter anymore awkward.

They ran past Fleur and her date, Snape and Karkaroff, and Hagrid and Madame Maxime before finally stopping.

"Bloody Hell." Ron gasped. "Did you see that? He looked like a vampire trying to eat her alive."

"Somehow, I don't think that's what he was doing." Harry spoke before hearing a crying girl.

"I know he wasn't trying to do that. He was snogging her." Ron said, as if he had never heard of such a shocking act before in his life.

"Wait, shut up." Harry said as he heard the cries again. This time they were more of a sniffle.

"You hear that right?" Harry asked.

"Here what?" Ron asked before another cry broke through the night time air.

"Yeah, I do. Sounds like someone crying." Ron replied.

The two of them crept around the corner, following the sounds of her cries through the rose bushes. Until they came upon a circular pathway more remote than any other. Where a single girl with crimson red hair sat on the bench in her red kimono, bawling her eyes out.

"Isn't she one of those Konoha girls?" Ron whispered so softly that she wouldn't be able to hear them.

"I think so. She is in that Japanese style dress." Harry said.

"Sniff...I can sense you...so go away..." The girl sobbed, not even having the energy to snap at them.

Ron and Harry went wide eyed. Ron shrunk back, knowing full well not to mess with a ninja. Harry on the other hand could tell that this girl was in distress. He couldn't just leave her like this. It didn't feel right. She just sounded so pitiful it tugged at his heartstrings, dragging him out of the bushes and into the open.

"Um, hi?" Harry said.

The girl looked up from her wet sleeves, her eyes puffy and with a curious expression. "You're that Potter kid. The second Hogwarts champion. What do you want?" She sniffed.

"I...just wanted to see if you were okay." Harry admitted.

"Do I look like I'm okay to you...?" She whimpered.

"No." Harry admitted. "No, you don't. Is there anything I can do to help?" He asked.

"No. Just leave me alone." She sobbed.

"I will. But what happened if you don't mind me asking?" Harry asked.

"Is my translator jutsu not working? I said leave me alone!" She snapped.

"Okay, geez!" Harry said, annoyed by her attitude. He turned to leave her to her own misery until he heard a crunch underfoot. He looked down to see a broken pair of red framed glasses.

The girl just burst into a new fit of sobs. Harry looked in horror at what he had accidently done.

"I'm...sorry." Harry said.

"Just leave me alone." The girl begged.

Harry was saddened. How could he just leave this poor girl alone to wallow in her own pity? If it were any other random girl he might have just left her, but with her, he didn't know why, but he felt compelled.

Without really thinking about it. Harry picked up the broken red glasses and examined them. The left lens was cracked. Not surprising, thanks to Harry's dress shoe. But it's temple pieces were bent near the hinges. If Harry didn't know any better, he would say someone else had stepped on these glasses. Whether intentional or not. Not that it mattered to Harry at the moment. He took out his wand and tapped the pair of glasses gently. "Reparo." He recited, and the glasses instantly bent themselves back into place. The cracks in the glasses receded. Harry held them up to the fairy lights to inspect them and found them to be good as new.

Harry handed back Karin's glasses. She looked up and gasped when she saw that they were completely repaired. Even the old bends near the hinges were fixed.

"Why would you-"

"It was the right thing to do, wasn't it?" Harry said. He gave them back and turned to leave. There was nothing else for it.

"Wait." The girl said just before Harry could turn the corner. "Karin."

"I'm sorry?" Harry asked.

"Karin...that's my name." Karin repeated.

"Oh... My name is Harry."

"I see." Karin sniffed as she put on her glasses. Seeming just a bit calmer. "Thank you, Harry."

"Don't mention it. It was the least I could do." Harry smiled. "You should probably get inside. It's getting colder out."

Karin look around as if she had just noticed that she was sitting out on a park bench in the middle of winter. "Yeah, that's probably the best idea I've heard all night."

"Well, take care." Harry said as he turned to walk away.

Karin adjusted her glasses and caught a glimpse of the young Potter boy before he turned the corner and disappeared out of sight.

* * *

Back with Naruto and Sakura, they had returned from their make-out session feeling an overwhelming need to dance. Around midnight, the ball room was starting to die down. Naruto and Sakura finally came back from their "stroll" in the garden. Walking hand in hand.

"So..." Naruto started.

"So what?" Sakura asked.

"Does this mean... we're uh...boyfriend and girlfriend now?"

"That depends." Sakura said.

"On what?"

"On if you ask me out for a second date." Sakura smiled.

Naruto tripped over himself. "Y-you mean it?!" He exclaimed excitedly.

"Of course, I do, Baka." Sakura smiled.

Sakura shrieked briefly when Naruto had hoisted her up in the air and spun her around joyously.

"AHAHAHA! Naruto, let me down!" Sakura shrieked.

"Can't! Too happy!" Naruto laughed. Eventually he set her down, wearing the biggest grin Sakura had ever seen. "How about tomorrow night? I can take you to Hogsmeed."

"Oh, for a romantic dinner?" Sakura smiled.

"You got it. Anything you want." Naruto declared.

"Sounds great, but no bars. There is this cute little cafe Ino told me about that I would love to try."

"Why would I take you to a bar? That's not a good place for a dinner date." Naruto said, confused.

"I don't know. There just aren't that many selections at Hogsmead. And I didn't think you would know about the cafe. It's kind of girly." Sakura explained.

"If it makes you happy, I don't care what it looks like. I always imagined us having a nice candlelit dinner, just the two of us."

"Then this cafe will be perfect. I can't wait."

"That sounds perfect. Just the two of us." Sakura smiled.

"Okay! Um...what time should we go?" Naruto asked.

"Hmm...how about 1500 hours? We can take one of those cute enchanted carriages there and just relax and enjoy the day. Sound good?"

"Sounds awesome." Naruto said.

"Good. So what do you wanna do now?" Sakura asked.

"Well I think I overheard Kiba talking about an afterparty at the Kame camp. It'd be a fun way to end Christmas."

"Um...I don't know. I'm kinda tired. Unless there is alcohol involved, I could use a drink."

"I think there is supposed to be butterbeer and some other types of-WAAH!" Naruto cried in surprise as Sakura pulled him away.

"What are we waiting for?" Sakura laughed as she led him to the Kame camp.

They made it outside of Hogwarts castle before they noticed something peculiar out of the corner of their eyes. They both skidded to a halt and ducked behind some bushes to see Harry talking to Cedric. Sakura signed to Naruto to activate their enhanced hearing jutsu so they can hear what they were saying.

Naruto nodded and focused his chakra into his eardrums.

"-take a bath, okay?" Cedric whispered to Harry.

Naruto and Sakura both raised an eyebrow and looked at one another. That was possibly the oddest thing they have ever heard anyone say.

 _'What is that supposed to mean?'_ Naruto signed to Sakura.

 _'No idea.'_ Sakura signed back.

"Um, sure." Harry said with uncertainty.

Cedric smiled and left Harry with a satisfied look on his face.

 _'Should we question Harry about this?'_ Sakura signed.

 _'That Cedric is bullying him? Nah, that's his own battle he needs to fight.'_ Naruto signed.

 _'I defended you against Sasuke. Why can't we do the same for Harry? He's our friend, isn't he?'_

 _'That's ninja on ninja. If we go after Cedric it's like a soldier going after a civilian. Besides, Harry might not appreciate it.'_ Naruto wisely stated.

Sakura sighed deeply. _'I guess...it's just...you know how I feel about bullying.'_

 _'I feel the same. We see it again, we'll let Harry know we have his back.'_

Sakura nodded before they spotted Harry walking back to the castle.

"Well that kicked me out of a partying mood." Naruto said.

"Same...let's just get back home." Sakura sighed before she shivered. "I'm cold anyways..."

Naruto smirked, having waiting all night for this moment. He took off his jacket and draped it over Sakura's shoulders.

Sakura smiled warmly before pecking him on the cheek. "You're really sweet...I don't know why I haven't seen it before."

"Maybe I just make a really good best friend?" He suggested.

"More like I was too blind to see you as more than just a really good best friend. Even though...there was a time I thought about you as something more, but I didn't know how to process it as like a crush or anything." Sakura admitted.

"Well no worries. I get to date you now and that's all that matters to me. I could lose this whole competition and still go home feeling like the victor." Naruto smiled.

Sakura smiled. "You really are an odd one, Naruto."

"You've known me for how long and you're just figuring that out?" Naruto chuckled.

"I suppose so." Sakura said. "You know, with everyone going to the afterparty, we might just have the whole house to ourselves."

Naruto nearly tripped over himself when she said that. "A-are...you suggesting that...we...you know..."

"Continue our make-out session by the fireplace? Yes." Sakura said.

"Oh, that. I thought you meant something else."

"No, get your mind out of the gutter. This is the first date. I'm not Ino or that slut Karin." Sakura said, a tick forming on her forehead.

"Sorry! I just...I just didn't know what you meant. I wouldn't think that now would be the right time for that anyway." Naruto said quickly.

"So why bring it up?"

 _'Shit, think of something good to say...'_ Naruto thought as he looked at Sakura's facial expressions. He was one word away from screwing this date up and maybe losing his chance to ever have Sakura be with him. He had to choose his words carefully. "Well...it's just something that I hear a lot of that happens a lot. Since I'm new to dating, I thought that's how a date is supposed to end."

"Oh, well it's not and I'm not that kind of girl. I'm new to dating, too, and that is not how I work. Understand?" Sakura demanded in a no bullshit tone.

"I do." Naruto said.

"Good." Sakura said as she grabbed Naruto by the collar and brought him in close. "Because I'm also not a prune." She whispered into his ear like warm honey. Naruto gulped, feeling like the luckiest guy in Scotland right now.

* * *

 **Author's Note from Panda: Hey guys, sorry about the delay, had to go back and rewrite some stuff. Pretty satisfied on how it turned out, but your second opinions will help solidify that. Anyway, this is the last of the fully written chapters. Meaning everything beyond this point still needs to be written, not just edited. So don't expect the next chapter to come out next week as usual. I would have us aim for two weeks from now, but you know how these things go. Love you guys, Happy Paczki Day, and Happy 23** **rd** **birthday to me.**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7 – New Year's Eve

The week following the Yule Ball was the happiest week of Naruto's young life. Sakura, his childhood best friend and lifelong crush had agreed to date him and he had been over the moon. He had always enjoyed her company before, but now that they were dating there was a lot more snuggling involved by the campfires, more handholding as they walked side by side through the snow, and a whole lot more kissing. Naruto blushed remembering all the kisses they had shared since the Yule Ball. It was easily five times a day at least. Kisses for greeting in the morning. Kisses for when he did something adorable or she did something cute, kisses for snuggling by the fire, kisses goodnight, and kisses just because.

Naruto touched his lips. It had been half a day since he last had his noon day kiss but he could still taste Sakura's lips on his tongue. He would remember that until the day he died. It made it impossibly difficult for him to focus on his task at hand. Deciphering the Golden Egg for the 2nd Task while Sakura was out preparing for the party they were attending this evening. The Gryffindors had invited all the Konoha and the Kame students to their dorm for a New Year's Eve Party. Something Naruto had been looking forward to all week when he wasn't canoodling with Sakura. That also made trying to figure out the meaning behind ear piercing screams even more impossible. Naruto tapped his Golden Egg, rolling in around on his middle finger. A tiny idea in his head figured that maybe if you rolled the egg around the right way it would unlock in a different way. Of course, Naruto wasn't eager to test it out anytime soon either.

"Screw it." Naruto said allowed as he tossed the egg onto his pillow. The golden contraption then bounced off the pillow and hit the tile mat floor just as Sakura opened up the door to the boy's room.

"Naruto, what did I say about throwing your egg around?" Sakura snapped, making Naruto flinch. Much as he loved his girlfriend, her nagging had only increased since they agreed to go out. She was in charge of his life now whether he liked it or not.

"I wasn't." Naruto said quickly. "I was just—"

"Naruto, you have to be careful with this thing? What if it breaks and the judges don't let you compete because of it?" Sakura lectured.

"Its gold and magic. It is not just going to break." Naruto argued.

"Just put it somewhere safe." Sakura said. "Everyone is heading to the party now."

"Right, right." Naruto said as he pulled out a storage scroll and sealed his golden egg away. Then he tucked the scroll under his pillow and stood up. "I'm ready, let's go."

* * *

It was late in the evening of December 31st at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The hallways were abandoned, the portraits were gathered together in the larger landscape paintings to enjoy the New Year's Eve festivities, as were the castle ghosts who had retired to the deepest and darkest dungeon in the castle. The only thing that could be heard were the footsteps echoing from Filch and his pet Mrs. Norris patrolling the corridors. No doubt looking for students wandering the halls to punish before the new year began.

"Oh yes, my sweet Norris, I can smell a troublemaker. There are students out of their dorms right now." He said to his cat who took a particular interest in the wall between two stands of armor.

"What is it my sweet?" Filch asked just before he heard a loud bang coming from down the corridor. Like a knight's helmet crashing on the floor.

"What was that? Peeves?" Filch snapped, thinking it was the school's infamous Poltergeist causing mischief again. "I'll get you Peeves!" He cried as he took off down the hallway, faster than his old legs should allow him to sprint. Only when he had turned the corner to chase after another bang coming from a different corner further down the way that a dozen ninjas lowered their camouflage blankets, revealing not only 12 of the 16 shinobi students from Konoha, but the students from Kame and Akamaru.

"That was close." Naruto sighed in relief as he stuffed the blanket in his knapsack while Gohan looked over his shoulder nervously.

"Good thinking with your ink mice, Sai." Sakura praised while Akamaru growled at Mrs. Norris, causing her to scamper after her master.

"Thank you." Sai replied as he put his scroll and ink brush away.

"Neji, Hinata, is the way forward clear?" Shikamaru asked.

"Yes." Hinata said as she looked down the hall and up the ceiling. "No teachers in the entire stairwell."

"I don't sense anyone near." Videl said.

"Perfect. Every one head up the stairs. Fourth floor, we are looking for a portrait of a Fat Lady." Shikamaru instructed.

Everyone nodded before taking off down the hall. They made their way to the base of the stairwell where dozens of stairs were constantly in motion like they were a ride from an amusement park. The Kame students all flew up while the ninjas leapt from stairway to stairway.

Gohan was the first to arrive in front of the portrait of a fat lady who was exceptionally well dressed. She was giggling to herself while drinking wine.

"Um...hello?" Gohan spoke up as the rest of the group arrived.

"Oh hello." The Fat Lady laughed as she poured herself another drink. "Excuse me, I seem to have started early." She swayed back and forth.

"I see this. Um...Banana Fritters?"

"Oh that sounds lovely right now." The Fat Lady smiled.

"No. It's the password." Videl said impatiently.

"Oh right right right." The portrait replied. "Have fun." She said before swinging open.

"Impressive." Sakura commented as the group made their way inside.

"I was gonna say amazing." Naruto said as inside they found a decent sized common area decked out in lavish reds and golds with a roaring fireplace, stuffed armchairs, and had a lovely view of the castle grounds by the window. But what really interested the ninjas and martial artists was the massive party going on with all the Gryffindor students.

"Hey look who made it!" One of the Gryffindor students called.

"What up, party people!" Kiba shouted as he and Akamaru jumped right in with a bunch of 5th and 6th year guys.

"Naruto, Sakura!" Hermione called out.

"Hey!" Sakura smiled and she and Naruto went up to greet her.

"I'm so glad you guys could make it." Hermione said.

"Glad to be here. So what did we miss?" Naruto asked.

"Nothing much. I believe the Ravenclaws invited the Beauxbatons to their commons for New Years, as did the Slytherins with the Durmstrang students. I believe Angela is going to invite the Ravenclaws and Beauxbatons over here and I invited Krum to join us."

"Krum, huh?" Sakura smirked

"Yes, I thought it would be great for building international relationships." Hermione said.

"Uh huh...something tells me it's more than that." Videl said as she joined in.

"Honestly you two. You always think it is more than friendship. You're worse than Ron." Hermione said.

"I was just teasing. So where can I put the snacks?" Videl asked.

"On the tables." Hermione said.

Videl spotted an empty table and pulled out a capsule.

"What is that? Some kind of magical container?" Hermione asked, eager to learn more about Asian magic.

"It's a capsule. The only piece of technology a lot of people can't live without where I'm from."

"Oh, well I'm afraid it won't work here." Hermione said sadly. "No Muggle technology works inside Hogwarts."

"Heh, well then I've already proven that wrong." Videl said confidently.

"Impossible."

"Oh yeah?" Videl asked before tossing her capsule at the table. It exploded into smoke and out came a buffet of snacks and sweets from Videl's homeland.

Hermione went wide eyed. "How did you do that. It's impossible. All the magic surrounding the school is supposed to disrupt technology."

"Well I guess it doesn't do a very good job." Videl waved off.

"B-but, but Hogwarts, A History says..." Hermione sputtered.

"Look, it doesn't matter. Have some of this stuff before it gets cold...or before Gohan eats it all."

"Or Choji." Sakura added.

"I heard that!" Choji called

"What's this?" Ron said from Videl's table, holding up some kind of meatball.

"Takoyaki. Basically, a meatball with teriyaki sauce." Videl said.

"What about this?" Another student asked, holding up a bowl of noodles and other topping.

"My take on Ramen. BBQ pulled pork ramen." Videl said, immediately making the undisputed connoisseur of ramen take notice.

"Oh gimme." Naruto said, being the Konoha number 1 authority on ramen.

"Oh here we go..." Sakura groaned.

Naruto took a bowl in question and inspected the presentation. A thick BBQ sauce encased around thin shreds of pork on top of a layer of noodles. The broth seemed to be vacant until he tipped the bowl and noticed it was on the bottom so as to not make the BBQ sauce runny.

"Um...what is he doing?" Videl whispered to Sakura.

"Inspecting it." Sakura sighed.

"What, is he like Gordon Ramsay or something?" Hermione asked.

"Who?" Sakura asked.

"World renown chef from the UK. Very famous for his short temper." Videl informed.

"That's an act." Gohan said. "He is actually a very friendly and fun guy."

"Around children and his family, but not the so-called 'professional' chefs who make nasty food." Videl reminded.

"Well they deserve a good scolding." Gohan said.

"Agreed." Hermione nodded.

As they were talking, Naruto was three bites into his ramen. _'The noodles are sufficiently springy. The salt isn't overpowering, that's good. A notable hint of brown sugar.'_ He thought to himself. _'Sauce is tangy, yet sweet. Thick, but not too thick. Pork is very tender, almost melt in your mouth...now what about the broth...'_ Naruto thought before taking a little sip of the broth and it was almost like a miso pork broth, but the seasoning in it tasted a little more tangy and spicy than normal.

The overall combination was...perfect. It was like the Great Sage himself sent this ramen from above and delivered it into his hands as a gift.

Videl just watched on as Naruto seemed to have frozen in place. "Um...is he okay?" She asked before she felt Naruto grab her hand.

"I need this recipe." He said like he was asking a lover for her hand in marriage. Someone he couldn't live without.

Videl's face immediately went beet red. She could have sworn her heart skipped a beat just now. "U-uh...um..."

"Videl, please." His whispers cutting right through her.

Was she dreaming? Was Naruto seriously asking her what she thought she heard? "I...I-I...I uh...c-can you repeat that...?" She stammered.

"He asked for your ramen recipe." Gohan said, his voice like a bucket of ice cold water dumped on her head.

"Oh...wow, I feel like an idiot. Heh, I thought you were asking me to marry you." Videl chuckled.

"Marry you? Why would I do that?" Naruto asked bluntly.

Videl just sweat dropped. "Well...I guess that was just my mistake because of...never mind. Yeah, I'll give you the recipe."

Sakura just gave her the stink eye while Naruto looked like he had won a prize.

Videl caught Sakura's look and grinned sheepishly. "Heheh...my bad..."

"Yes, it was." Sakura said as Ino came up behind her to throw her arm over the medical ninja's shoulder.

"Hey Sakura, have I got something to show you."

"Like what?"

"Not in front of Aruto Nay." Ino giggled, somehow already buzzed from the butterbeers and the atmosphere.

"Oookay then..." Sakura said, a little confused. Ino quickly dragged Sakura out of earshot from the blond just as he was being cornered by the Weasely twins.

"So what is this about, Pig?"

"Something special from our magical friends from the west." Ino said as she led Sakura over to a gaggle of giggling girls headed by the 4th year Gryffindor Lavender Brown.

"Will you just tell me already." Sakura demanded.

The wall of witches opened up and in the center being held by Lavender was a glowing pink potion bottle of with heart shape bubbled popping inside the sealed bottle.

"What is this?" Sakura asked.

"Use that big brain of yours, Forehead." Ino smirked as the witches glanced over at Sharpner and exploded into more giggles.

"Wait...seriously? A love potion?" Sakura asked skeptically.

"Oh yes." Lavender smiled. "Imported directly from France. My mother got it for me for Christmas."

"Okay..." Sakura said skeptically before readdressing Ino. "Why show me this?"

"Because we are going to slip a bit of this into our boyfriends' drinks." Ino said.

"Pffft. You lot can, but Naruto is already crazy about me." Sakura waved off.

"And what do you think would happen if we gave him love potion when he is already head over heels for you?" Ino teased.

"Don't wanna think about it. I'm already starting to feel smothered."

"Oh come on, it could be fun." Ino begged.

"No." Sakura said firmly.

"Oh quit being a stick in the mud. You might actually get a kick out of it."

"To what point and end, Pig? As I said, Naruto is already head over heels for me. Giving him a love potion is just overkill and you aren't the one who would have to deal with it. It would be me and for a long while."

"Not true. I assure you, one drop will have him kissing you in places you've only dreamed about for around 5 minutes." Ino nearly begged.

Sakura gave her an unconvincing look. "I dunno, I can think of quite a few. Some of which I don't want him near just yet." She then began to ponder things, really thinking it over. She could have him do anything she wanted him to. not that she doesn't already have that power, but it would be without question.

 _'Either that, or it will make him give into his lust for you.'_ Inner pointed out.

 _'Possibly...it's not entirely an undesirable affect, just not something I'm really ready for.'_

 _'If it comes down to that and he taps into his Foxy friend's chakra, you wouldn't have much of a choice.'_

 _'Are you trying to insinuate that Naruto would rape me?!'_ Sakura exclaimed, completely outraged that Inner would suggest such a thing.

 _'Hey I'm part of your subconscious. I wouldn't bring it up if you didn't think of it.'_

 _'Yeah, I bet.'_ Sakura huffed.

 _'Wait a minute...you WANT that to happen!'_ Inner exclaimed.

 _'I DO NOT!'_ Sakura screamed, the mere thought of something like that getting her completely flustered.

 _'I feel as if we just went over this. I'm part of your subconscious.'_

 _'Whatever.'_ Sakura said, shutting down the conversation. "You said 5 minutes?"

"Yes, but if you are that freaked out about it, then maybe you shouldn't." Lavender said, feeling that this girl was taking things way too seriously.

Sakura slid her hand down her face before looking directly at Ino. "5 minutes. No longer. Any longer than that and you're putty."

"Atta'girl, Forehead. I promise you, you'll love it." Ino assured.

Lavender poured Sakura a quarter of a teaspoon worth of love potion into another vial. "Just get your boyfriend to ingest this any way you can and he will go crazy for you." She instructed.

"I think I know how. There is only one thing Naruto likes to eat other than Ramen and that's sweets." Sakura said with certainty.

"Red bean soup?" Ino asked.

"Yup. If there is some." Sakura nodded.

"I'm sure we had some." Ino said. "Although it looks like Naruto is currently occupied." She said, noticing the blond ninja having found Harry and Ron and was currently in a game of Flip Cup with them and three other Gryffindors.

"That's fine. It's a good distraction." Sakura said as she made her way back to the buffet of food to look for red bean soup.

Piled high were stacks of food stolen from the Hogwarts kitchen, food from the Leaf village delivered via care packages, and refrigerators brought in by the Kame students. Sakura started sorting her way through the duffle bags filled with storage scrolls until she found one labeled soup. She undid the scroll and found what she was looking for. _'Red bean soup...please don't be mad, Naruto...'_

She gave the 12 oz can a good shake before opening the top with the tab. With the precision of a doctor at home amongst test tubes, she slipped the love potion into the can. Her thumb over the opening she gave it another good shake.

"COME ON, NARUTO!" Fred and George shouted as the blond ninja chugged his butterbeer. It was the seventh round and Naruto was the last one on his team. The other side already had their last man finish him drink and was now trying to flip his plastic cup right side up to win the match. Naruto slammed his drink down and started to flip his own cup. Sakura came up right behind him as he landed the flip on the first try. The table exploded in cheers.

"Hey, Naruto." Sakura spoke to get his attention.

Naruto turned around and scooped Sakura up like he had just completed the 1st task all over again. Only this time he was kissing Sakura full on the mouth.

Sakura was taken aback at first, but returned the kiss in full view of everyone. Harry and Ron were hollering like frat boys at a party. Naruto let Sakura go with an audible pop. Leaving her dazed and eager for more. Then Naruto noticed the can in her hand. "Is that for me?" He asked eagerly.

"Huh...? What?" Sakura asked, still dazed.

"The Red Bean Soup. You know it's my favorite." Naruto said, hoping that Sakura didn't come over here to tease him with it.

Sakura got back to reality and realized what he was talking about. "Oh right. Yeah, It's for you."

"Oh sweet. You shouldn't have. Thanks, babe." Naruto smiled as he took the drink from her hand.

Before Sakura could say another word, he downed the entire can, love potion and all.

 _'Oh boy...'_ She thought.

Naruto smacked his lips, savoring the sweet taste. Sakura didn't know how long it would take for the potion to enter his blood stream, and as soon as she finished wondering that his eyes dilated. His gaze shot down to match hers.

"Um...Naruto?" Sakura asked, not concerned.

Naruto smiled a softer smile than Sakura had ever seen on his face. Like he was a father looking at his new born daughter. Or a groom looking at his bride walk down the aisle.

He grasped her head, cradling it in his arms. "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?"

"Um...what?" Sakura asked.

"It's Shakespeare. Although I'm afraid I don't know any more of his words. I wish I did. I wish I was a masterful poet so that I may describe to you your beauty and the love I feel for you." Naruto proclaimed.

Sakura's cheeks felt light they were being held to a flame they were so warm.

"Is there a mountain I would not climb for you or a raging river I would not dare swim across its rapids? That dragon I faced in the first task. I would fight it again and a thousand like it if it would please you." He spoke like a knight of yore.

Sakura was starting to feel lost in his words. She knew about these love potions. They didn't just make a person fall in love with you, they bring out one's deepest feelings for you. With them brought to light, Sakura was seeing Naruto for the first time...and she liked it.

"Naruto...that's so sweet..." She smiled.

"Not as sweet as you." He said taking her hands with his. "A girl who would befriend a monster and grow stronger as his friend after learning that he was a monster. That you would then devote yourself to helping others. The sick, the healthy, the old, the young, rich, and poor. You amaze me with every breath you take."

Sakura had to take a hand away to stifle a gasp. Naruto had never said anything that meaningful and power before and it touched her to the core.

"I can't imagine how you could make me any happier. I only wish I could return the favor." Naruto spoke.

"Naruto...you don't have to do anything. You already make me happy." Sakura smiled.

"I should put a baby in you." Naruto said.

Sakura's face went blank as her whole body felt like she was in an oven. Inner was shaking with excitement. "...Uh...what...?" She squeaked.

"Yes. A child of both of us. That way you could never leave me and I would always provide for you." Naruto said possessively.

"I...I uh..."

 _'Okay, starting to get a little creepy.'_ Inner thought.

"And then we will grow old together. And die together. Surrounded by our grandchildren on a house on a hill where no one else can bother us."

 _'This...was a mistake...'_ Sakura thought. She was able to regain herself enough to flick him in the forehead. "Snap out of it. We just started dating!"

The force behind her finger sent the love-struck Naruto falling into the table, causing it to collapse. The music briefly stopped as all eyes turned on the couple.

Naruto gave a groan before sitting back up. "What just happened?"

"Do you remember anything?" Sakura asked.

"No. Don't tell me I blacked out. I only had a dozen butterbeers." Naruto said.

Sakura sweat dropped. _'Of course, he wouldn't remember. Oh well...I'll just have to remind him from time to time.'_

"Don't worry about it. You just drank your alcohol too quickly." Sakura said.

"What? But that ain't right. I never get affected by alcohol...oh shit...Lee! Where is Lee?!" Naruto exclaimed before he realized Lee's condition.

Sakura's eyes went wide. That had completely slipped her mind as well.

"It's alright, we had him tied up!" Tenten called out from the other side of the party.

"YOUTH!" Lee shouted.

"Oh shit! He broke free!" Tenten cried as the sound of broken glass shook the common rooms.

"Uh oh..." Sakura gulped before she frantically started looking around. She instantly spotted Lee who was about to take a sip of Butter beer close by. She quickly dashed to him to stop him. "LEE FREEZE!" She shouted.

Lee was almost there before his beer was slapped out of his hands.

"Don't touch that stuff!" Sakura berated.

"Sakura-chan. What the Hell? I just got that." Lee said.

"It's alcohol you idiot!"

"It's only 2%."

"Medics orders. No alcohol for you." Sakura said firmly.

"Oh come on, Sakura, it's New Years!" Lee proclaimed before his head swung low like a wrecking ball.

 _'Oh shit no...'_ Sakura gulped. "Did...you already have some...?"

"Only three bottles." Lee said before leaning back so hard that he kicked up at Sakura.

Sakura quickly blocked Lee's kick. Even with her chakra enhanced strength, it still hurt like a bitch.

"Crap, Neji! Tenten!" Sakura shouted, desperate to have Lee's teammates restrain him.

"Honestly, it's alright, Sakura-chan." He slurred. "I'm fine." To emphasize how fine he was, he stretched his arms out wide, smacking one of the guys from Kame out the window.

"Somebody grab him!" Naruto shouted.

"Why? What's wrong?" Videl asked.

"He can't handle alcohol. Just one drop and he becomes a drunken fighting wrecking ball." Ino said.

"Don't worry, I'll get him!" Lee declared before jumping out of the window.

"Aw hell." Videl cursed before jumping after him, followed by Gohan and Sharpner.

The rest of the party gathered at the broken window just in time to look down and see Lee snatching the falling Kame student before either of them could hit the ground. He rolled into the snow and came up twirling with his victim like they were ballroom dancing.

"Ya-cha!" Lee shouted as he tangoed with the confused Kame student.

"Whoa, look at him move." Sharpner said.

"Isn't that Pen he's dancing with?" Alyx asked.

"He's the scrawny one, right?" Naruto asked.

"Yup, that's him alright." Don smirked. "He was always busy burying himself in his books instead of training."

"Gohan was the same way, but he still trained." Erasa added.

"So then how did he become one of you Kame students?" Naruto wondered as Lee dipped Pen low as Videl, Gohan, and Sharpner all circled around the two of them.

"You would have to ask Master Roshi." Don shrugged.

"Actually, it was Goku's idea." Erasa informed. "He has a special knack for finding talent in everyone. If Pen is still here, it's for a reason."

"The boy knows how to dance if nothing else." Ino observed as Lee twirled Pen away.

"That he does." Alyx smiled.

Down below, Videl, Gohan and Sharpner caught up to Lee just as he dipped Pen one more time. Videl approached then first and grabbed Lee's shoulder.

"Mind if I cut in?"

Lee whipped around so fast Videl barely had time to dodge his arm. "EEEH? WADAYA WANT? I'M DANCIN' WI SAKURA-CHAN!" He shouted drunkenly.

"No you're not. You're dancing with a guy."

Up above, Sakura had a tick mark on her forehead. "I look NOTHING like that!"

"SAKURA-CHAN DOESN'T LOOK LIKE A MAN!" Lee shouted as Naruto laughed.

Sakura popped Naruto upside the head. "Laugh again! See what happens!"

"Ow!" Naruto chuckled.

"I WILL DEFEND YOUR HONOR, SAKURA-CHAN!" Lee shouted as he stood before Pen and assumed his combat stance.

Gohan and Sharpner stood next to Videl. "You don't want any of this. Trust me."

"And you don't want any of this?" Lee said as he rubbed his nose, swaying from side to side.

"Lee, just come back to the party. Sakura is up there, not down here." Gohan reasoned.

"Don't try and trick me, kame student. Have at you." Lee said as he lunged forward. All three fell into their fighting stances expecting him to run at them. Instead he did the unexpected. He flipped end over end to kick at them. Gohan and Videl dodged while Sharpner took a foot to the face.

"Ow! Dammit!" Sharpner cursed as he tried to reorient himself.

"Are you okay?" Gohan asked.

"Fine, but he hits hard!" Sharpner called out.

"TAKE DIS!" Lee shouted as he followed up his kick with a three-punch combo. Sharpner blocked the first punch, but the other two both hit like steel I-beams. Lee's fighting style wasn't normal. Instead of aiming for obvious spots like his torso and head, Lee threw punches at whatever remained undefended. Shoulders, knees, places Sharpner had never been trained to expect let alone block.

The next swing Lee took was blocked by Gohan, who caught the blow with ease. Lee then twisted his body around Gohan's outstretch armed and kicked at his neck. Gohan didn't even flinch. The blow felt like a passing breeze to him.

Lee tilted his head in confusion. It was like fighting a training dummy.

"You can't hurt me." Gohan said before landing a blow to Lee's abdomen faster than the spandex clad Ninja could react.

The green clad ninja rolled away, kicking up snow as he moved.

Some of the snow covered Videl's hair. "Aww! Come on!" She protested.

"Forget your hair!" Sharper shouted.

"Forget yours! Playboy wannabe!" Videl snarled before throwing a snowball in his face.

"Hey!" Sharpner shouted before throwing his own snowball that beaned Videl right in the head.

"Oh you're a dead man!" Videl shouted before making a hard snowball and throwing it as hard as she could right in his gut.

Sharpner took the snow and fell on his butt, making Videl burst out laughing until she got another face full of snow herself. Knocking her to her knees.

"No throwing at ladies!" Lee slurred, thinking he had just saved the honor of a beautiful fair maiden with long blond hair.

"Oh yeah?!" Videl growled before creating a huge snowball and hitting Lee as hard as she could.

"Hey, Videl, hold on." Gohan said before he was attacked from behind with an incoming flurry of snowballs. He and Videl ducked for cover as Lee's teammates came rushing over the hill of the grounds flinging snowballs with precise accuracy.

"SNOWBALL FIGHT!" Fred and George proclaimed.

"Oh, so that's how it is, huh?" Videl smirked before beginning to make a stockpile for her classmates.

* * *

Back up in the Gryffindor common rooms, the students were all placing bets as the snowball fight went underway. Naruto and Sakura were cheering on Team Gai with Harry, Ron, and Hermione rooted for the Kame students.

"Come on, Neji!" Naruto cheered.

"Go Tenten!" Sakura screamed.

"Let's go Turtles!" Hermione cried out.

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "Turtles?"

"Isn't that what the term Kame means?" Hermione asked.

Sakura thought about it for a minute. "Yeah, I suppose it does. Never really gave it much thought."

Ron snorted. "Turtles? Really?"

"Shut it, Ron." Hermione snapped.

"What? The strongest fighters in the world are called turtles. It's funny."

"I don't think they're that strong." Naruto scoffed.

"Are you serious?" Sakura asked incredulously. "You saw Gohan take a direct hit from Lee and it didn't even phase him."

"Doesn't make him strong. It just makes him durable." Naruto said as Gohan threw a snowball that shot right through Neji and Tenten's snow fort like a rail gun through sheet metal.

"And what about that?"

"He missed, didn't he?" Naruto pointed out. Which was true. Gohan and Videl had the better arms, but Tenten and Neji were getting more direct hits. Tenten for knowing how to arc her projectiles and Neji for being able to see his foes through solid surfaces.

"You have to factor in something else." Hermione spoke. "He also fought Cell."

"And won." Erasa added.

"Yeah, yeah." Naruto said as he watched the two sides exchange snowballs. Gohan and Videl ducking and weaving while Neji and Tenten pressed their bodies as close to the ground as they could to avoid being hit. All the while Lee wrestled with Sharpner in the snow. Tossing him about like a bucking bronco. Naruto had half a mind to jump down there and join them when the common rooms suddenly quieted down. Someone near the portrait door had heard something and hushed his friends up. That spread like wildfire and now the entire room turned quiet when they heard the old man shouting.

"I said let me in, damnit! I am the caretaker!"

"Sorry. But without the password I cannot allow you in." The fat lady said.

"Confound it all! Where is Mrs. Norris? She would know." Mr. Filch said to himself.

"I haven't the foggiest." The fat lady said.

"Hide." Harry hissed at Naruto.

"What?" Naruto asked before he and Sakura along with the rest of the Konoha and Kame students were being pushed to and fro by the Gryffindors, trying to find a spot to hide them.

"The dorms?" Someone suggested.

"Filch'd look there." Another argued back.

"The girl's dorms?" Came another suggestion.

"The window!" Shikamaru hissed.

"Now wait a minute." Sakura spoke but not in time. Both her and Naruto were shoved out of the window.

"Whoa!" Naruto said as he nearly fell off the edge, only to have his arm grabbed by Sakura while she used chakra to keep her feet planted on the wall. Yet her feet were slipping.

"Naruto, you're too heavy, the ice." She hissed. Naruto threw his legs up, wasting no time in making his own feet stick to the icy walls. They both immediately stopped slipping and breathed a sigh of relief.

"That was close..." Sakura sighed.

"Yeah." Naruto said as he looked down at them both holding hands.

"Come on, let's get by the window." Sakura grunted as she tried to hoist Naruto up.

"What's all this then?" Filch shouted from the window. The ninja couple froze. Inside, Filch had finally remembered the password and made his way inside before anyone else could hide outside the window. Instead they were trapped in the common room with Mr. Filch pacing back and forth amongst the crowd of students. "Mrs. Norris spotted Kame students and ninjas wandering in the halls without permission. I know you've got them hidden in here."

"I'm afraid you're mistaken, Mr. Filch." Harry spoke.

"Yeah, nobody here but us Gryffindors." George said aloud.

"Do not lie to me. I know they're here." Filch said with certainty. His words were met with seven puffs of smoke appearing in the crowd.

"What?" Filch shouted as he pushed the students away. He could smell troublemakers and puffs of smoke coming from students were never a wholesome thing. They only spell mischief and troublemakers in need of discipline.

He pushed through to the closest one and snatched at a pale skinned white girl with milk white eyes, long black hair, and a Gryffindor uniform on.

"Who are you, what's your name?" Filch snapped.

"Hi-Hinata." She squeaked.

"You're a Gryffindor, eh? Too old to be a first year. How come I've never seen you before?" Filch interrogated.

"I-I don't know sir." Hinata squeaked. She should have turned into someone else. Another Hogwarts student she had seen in the halls. But what if Filch recognized them?

"Maybe you have and just never noticed?" Ron asked

"You watch your mouth, boy. Or I'll have you in detention." Filch snapped.

"Sir, Ron merely meant that she may have been here this whole time and this is your first time seeing here. Here are dozens of students here." Hermione clarified.

"And I know each and every Hogwarts student that has come and gone for the past 4 decades. Including..." Filch growled before pointing at her, Ron and Harry. "...you three. Don't think I have forgotten your escapades two years ago..."

"What is the meaning of all this?" A woman's voice spoke up. All eyes turned on Professor McGonagall standing in the entryway into the commons room. She did not look happy.

"Troublemakers, Professor." Filch said. "The Kame students and Konoha students were in the Gryffindor dorm without permission."

"Really? That is your biggest concern? Not the broken window?" McGonagall scoffed.

 _'Shit!'_ Naruto and Sakura both thought.

"I- well um- I..." Filch muttered. McGonagall just rolled her eyes and proceeded to look out the window. Down on the grounds she could see some Kame students and Konoha students playing in the snow. Looking down at the walls she could see nothing but snow and brick. While above her Naruto and Sakura were hugging the wall, trying not to breathe. They were ninjas, hiding out of sight of others was their bread and butter, but there was something about hiding from this particular professor. Whenever Harry or his friends talked about their Transfiguration teacher, they always made her come across as a teacher you did not cross. Naruto and Sakura knew that well when McGonagall looked up and caught them red handed. Sakura gasped and held Naruto's jacket. They were busted.

"Professor?" Filch asked, the vice headmistress had gone quiet.

McGonagall looked in the eyes of Naruto and Sakura and winked.

"Who broke this window?" McGonagall asked.

"That was us, Professor." Fred spoke up. Grabbing his twin by the shoulder. "Our mistake."

McGonagall smirked. "Detention then. And ten points from Gryffindor each." The professor said as she waved her wand and fixed the window. Stopping the cold wind from blowing in, much to everyone's appreciation.

"Right you are, professor." George saluted like a good sport. Harry and the others sighed in relief.

"Wait, professor!" Filch called out as he grabbed Hinata by her arm. "This girl. Do you recognize her?"

"Of course, I do." McGonagall said. "She's been here for years, you blithering idiot. You would know who she is if you paid more attention to all of the students instead of the ones you think are trouble makers."

"I-um-I..."

"That will be all, caretaker. I think I saw Peeves in the third-floor corridor." McGonagall said, shooing him away.

Once Filch was shooed away and the door closed. Everyone had breathed a sigh of relief. But now they had to deal with a questioning McGonagall.

McGonagall looked out upon all her students with a rather devious smirk on her face. "Next time, get permission before inviting any guests into your dorm rooms."

Everyone just looked flabbergasted. Was McGonagall... letting them off?

The professor walked over to grab a pumpkin pasty from the table. "And someone needs to let Mr. Uzumaki and Ms. Haruno back in through the window. It would not do well to have the Konoha Champion freeze outside our dorms. We might be accused of sabotaging our guests."

* * *

Outside, the two Shinobi in question were huddled up to conserve body heat. Neither one dare spoke a word. they had only just started dating not even a week ago and they had their bodies pressed tightly against one another. Naruto, through his clothes, could feel every bump and curve that made Sakura's frame.

Sakura meanwhile, could feel the same with Naruto. Including one appendage that had started poking her in her lower regions. the one place that she was very protective of.

"Naruto..." Sakura spoke.

"Yeah?"

"Please do me a favor...get your hormones under control."

"My what?" Naruto asked; completely oblivious.

"You're poking me..." Sakura informed; her face bright red. Not from the cold, but out of embarrassment.

"I'm sorry, Sakura-chan, I can't help it." Naruto shivered.

"Evening you two..." George said from the window, looking up at the two of them.

"Ah! Ha! Hey...George." Naruto exclaimed.

"Feel like coming back to the party or shall we give you two some privacy?"

"No. Let us back in." Sakura insisted. If she stayed out here any longer her head would overheat before she could get hypothermia.

"Come on in." George said before moving away.

Sakura scrambled out of Naruto's arms and crawled back into the party.

"Damn..." Naruto cursed before rejoining the party. As soon as he got in, he saw Sakura trying to gain distance from him.

"Sakura!" He called out as the music picked up.

Sakura didn't turn around. She kept walking away. She wasn't mad at Naruto, but she was hugely embarrassed. She had never gone through something like this before and her hormones were out of control. She needed to find a place to get herself calmed down.

"Sakura-chan! Hold up!" Naruto called to her. Sakura ignored him and pushed through the crowd before having her arm grabbed by a blond girl from Gryffindor.

"Get off me." Sakura hissed, throwing her arm up, but the girl had the grip strength of a ninja.

"Sakura, its me." Ino said, forcing Sakura to look at her. The last thing Sakura was expecting right now was to see her best friend dressed in Hogwarts robes.

"Ino? Why are you dressed like that?"

"Had to hide from that creepy old guy. Not everyone got to hide outside in the arms of their boyfriend." Ino said.

Sakura's face started to turn back to bright red. "Shut up..."

"What? Come to think of it, where is Naruto? Getting you both hot chocolate?" Ino looked over Sakura's head to spot Naruto trying to push through the crowd to get to them.

"No, he's not. I gotta go." Sakura said before she tried to pull away.

Something felt off to Ino. Her woman's intuition was flashing like mad. She looked from Sakura to Naruto and back to Sakura to realize that she needed help.

"Come on." Ino said as pulled Sakura towards the spiral staircase which led to the bedrooms.

"Where are you taking me?"

"Somewhere private." Ino said as she dragged Sakura up the staircase. Naruto spotted them and immediately bolted after them.

"Sakura, wait!" Naruto pleaded as Sakura disappeared up the staircase. He gave chase and pounded up five steps before the stairs flattened out into a slide. He slipped and fell flat on his face before sliding back down to the common rooms.

"What the?" Naruto wondered.

"You can't go up there." Hermione said.

"What? Why?" Naruto snapped.

"That is the girl's dormitory." Lavender Brown giggled. "No boys allowed."

"But I need to see Sakura-chan." Naruto insisted

"You're just gonna have to wait until she comes down." Hermione stated.

"What? That's bullshit. I need to speak with her." Naruto said as he leapt at the walls of the staircase. He channeled chakra into the soles of his feet, only to slip and fall down the stairs like an idiot. All the girls and some of the guys burst out laughing at Naruto's display.

"The founders of Hogwarts really didn't trust boys to go into the girl's dormitory." Hermione said.

"Are you kidding me? Sakura!" Naruto called out. His voice echoing up the staircase.

"How about I go up there and talk to her for you." Hermione offered.

"Would you please? Thank you." Naruto begged.

Hermione nodded before heading upstairs to find Sakura. Once she got to the dorm door, she could hear Sakura talking with someone.

"It was just...it was so embarrassing...I can't even look at him right now." Sakura said.

"So he got a boner from holding you. So what? So long as he didn't whip it out and try to screw you, what's there to be embarrassed about?" Ino said logically.

"No, he didn't do that but..."

"But nothing. That's the thing about most guys. They can't control their dick when they see a gorgeous woman. Naruto is no different."

"I just wasn't ready for it. We were hiding one moment and he gets an erection? And then he wouldn't let go of me after I told him to stop."

"Okay. That is not okay." Ino agreed.

"I don't know what he was thinking. He's never like that..."

"If you want my advice? Dump him." Ino said seriously. "I don't care how nice of a person he is. Forcing you to do something like that is not cool."

"I agree, but is it really something I should dump him over?"

"That's up to you. Personally, if a guy tried to do that to me, he'd be hitting the road immediately."

Their conversation was interrupted by the door to the bedroom opening and in stepped Hermione.

"We're having a private conversation here." Ino spoke.

"I know. Naruto sent me up here to talk with Sakura."

"Then you can mosey yourself back downstairs. Naruto is on our shit list right now." Ino said firmly.

"He nearly broke his neck trying to climb these stairs. Whatever he did I am sure he is sorry for."

"Nearly broke his neck?" Sakura asked. "Naruto is stupid, but he's not that stupid."

"The stairs fold in when a boy tries to climb them. It's a security measure."

"Huh...that's pretty clever, actually." Ino mused. "But still, Naruto did a terrible thing. An unforgivable thing."

"What did he do?" Hermione asked.

"He..." Sakura caught her breath. "He..."

"He tried to force himself on her." Ino said sourly.

"What?" Hermione blushed. "Impossible."

"Well, it just happened." Ino stated.

"No. Naruto is not that kind of guy. There has to be another explanation." Hermione stated.

"What other explanation is there?" Ino demanded.

"I don't know. But you both know him. Naruto would never do anything to upset Sakura. Not intentionally."

"There's always a first for everything." Ino said firmly.

"No, Ino. She's right." Sakura spoke.

"But you said-"

"I know, but she also has a point. Naruto wouldn't do that. He would sooner break his own neck than hurt me."

"He's a guy. The moment they get wood they don't think about anything else."

"Oh really now. Give them some credit." Hermione scoffed.

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Ino scowled.

"Yes, boys can be stupid. But that doesn't mean that he has bad intentions."

"For as long as I've known him, he's never..." Sakura stopped herself mid-sentence. She thought about all the times she had been around Naruto and the only thing he ever did that could be considered bad intentions was pulling harmless pranks. "He's never had any bad intentions...not once in his life..."

"There, you see? Now please go and talk to him. Before he tries to steal a broomstick." Hermione pleaded.

"Can he even use one? Never mind. That's not important." Sakura said before standing up.

"I'm sure he could surprise us." Hermione said.

"He is known to do that." Sakura agreed before making her way down stairs.

By the time they made it back down the party was back in full swing. Fred and George were hosting a butterbeer drinking contest. Kiba and Choji were trying out a game of exploding snaps. And Naruto was sitting in the corner with Sai, Harry, and Ron.

"Cheer up, mate. I'm sure she'll come around." Ron assured. "It was all a misunderstanding."

"On the other hand. You are probably more desirable now once you have been dumped." Sai said.

"Gee...thanks a lot, Sai..." Naruto grumbled.

"You are welcome." Sai smiled.

"He was being sarcastic. Seriously, are you daft or something?" Ron asked.

"He doesn't understand emotions." Naruto sighed.

"Apparently." Ron said before he noticed a familiar pink haired girl walking towards them. "Uhh...Naruto?"

"Yeah?" Naruto asked as he took a depressing sip of butterbeer.

"She's coming."

"Huh?" Naruto looked over to see Sakura standing right over him.

"WAAH!" Naruto jumped, spilling his butter beer on Sai.

"Oh dear." Sai said.

"Ron, Harry, Sai, can you give us a minute?" Sakura asked.

"Um, sure thing." Harry said, ushering the boys away.

"Sakura-chan... before you say anything, I just wanted to say that I'm really sorry." Naruto said nervously.

"Okay, Naruto." Sakura nodded.

"I didn't mean to let that happen. It just sort of... happened. Ya know?"

"Naruto, I understand completely. It happens. I just... overreacted is all... And I'm sorry."

Naruto blinked. "You are apologizing to me?"

"Yes. Here I was thinking you were trying to force yourself on me...then I realized that you would never do that to anyone, let alone me."

"Yes, I wouldn't!" Naruto said, sounding so relieved.

"Exactly. So, I'm sorry I overreacted." Sakura said before she smirked. "It's actually kind of flattering."

"Huh? In what way?"

"That I can make you hard just by being close to you." Sakura whispered.

Naruto did a double take. "Wait, what?"

Then Sakura grabbed him by his ear. "Don't get the wrong idea. If you think you're gonna get that thing of yours wet anytime soon, guess again mister. It will be when I'm damn good and ready. You hear me?"

Naruto gulped. "Yes." He squeaked.

"Good. Now keep that thing flaccid and in your pants around me or I'll rip it off." Sakura threatened.

"Got it." Naruto squeaked.

Sakura smiled and let go of his ear. "Good. Now be a dear and get me a butter beer."

"Sure thing." Naruto said, now thoroughly whipped into line.

Sakura couldn't help but giggle as she watched Naruto scamper away to get her a drink.

 _'Cut the bullshit and just ride him already.'_ Inner said.

 _'No way. I'm not easy.'_ Sakura said firmly. _'If he wants it, he's gonna earn it.'_

 _'What about the lifetime of friendship he has provided you?'_

Sakura sighed. _'I get where you're coming from, but we've only been officially dating for less than a week.'_

 _'And you've been friends for how long?'_

 _'Look, I'm just not ready yet.'_

 _'Sage, fine. Just hurry it up.'_

 _'I will when I'm damn good and ready.'_

 _'Yeah, yeah.'_

 _'Why do you want me to fuck him so bad?'_

 _'Come on. You and I both know that you got turned on by feeling his rod between your legs. Plus, you gotta admit. He isn't packing small.'_ Inner smirked.

 _'I really didn't think about it that-'_

 _'Bullshit you didn't.'_

Sakura sighed. _'Okay, maybe I did.'_

 _'No maybe about it. You were hot for him.'_

 _'Okay, fine! Yes, I was. But that doesn't mean I'm ready for it yet.'_

 _'Maybe not mentally, but physically, your body is screaming for him.'_

 _'Then I'll just have to control my urges.'_

Inner sighed and shook her head. _'Fine. Do things the hard way.'_

 _'I will. At least until before the final challenge.'_ Sakura finished just as Naruto returned with a beer for her and him.

 _'Aaah...I knew you had a plan.'_ Inner smirked.

 _'I might.'_ Sakura replied before taking her beer. "Thanks. So, how is this stuff?"

"Think of it as a butterscotch liqueur. But stronger." Naruto answered

"Interesting." Sakura said before taking a quick taste and instantly found it to her liking.

"Pretty good, right."

"Mmm...that's tasty." Sakura smiled before taking a huge gulp.

"Woah, easy. That stuff is pretty strong." Naruto warned.

"Oh please. It doesn't taste strong." Sakura scoffed.

"Strong nothing." Sharpner said as he approached them with a different kind of drink in his hand. "This is far stronger."

The ninja duo looked upon a golden orange bottle labeled Ogden's Old Firewhiskey.

"Say what you want about witches and wizards. They know how to make a drink to knock you on your ass." Sharpner declared.

"Let me see that." Sakura said. Sharpner handed over the bottle for Sakura to inspect.

"125 proof? Damn... That would be strong."

"Take a swig. Just be careful. That stuff has quite the burn to it." Sharpner warned.

"Isn't that 60% alcohol?" Naruto asked.

"Roughly." Sharpner said before witnessing Sakura up-end the bottle into her mouth, but instantly regretted it.

"Oh Sage!" Sakura coughed.

"I warned you." Sharpner chuckled.

"Sweet Sage, you alright, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked.

"Ahem...yeah..." Sakura wheezed. "Damn strong is all..."

"Uh huh. Which is why I am proposing a contest." Sharpner declared, snagging some attention from the party goers. "We've had some talks about which champion is the toughest! But stealing a dragon egg ain't shit! Let's settle this with a drinking contest! A firewhiskey contest!" He said, holding up the bottle, making all the party people cheer.

"Someone grab Videl and that glasses kid! What's his name?" Sharpner mocked, getting him quite a few booes from the Gryffindors.

"Wait, what?" Naruto asked.

Minutes later he was seated in a circular table with Harry and a blanket wrapped Videl seated on either side of him.

"Alright!" Sharpner called for order. "Let's get ready to fucking drink!""

"Harry can't play!" Hermione called out. "He isn't seventeen yet!"

"Oh come on, Hermione." Ron said. "He isn't old enough to be in the Tournament either, yet here we are." The crowd laughed.

"Judges?" Sharpner asked, referring to the Weasley twins, Kiba, and Don. All of whom gave thumbs up for the go ahead.

"Seems pretty unanimous." Sharpner smirked. Hermione frowned but kept her silence. "Now, each champion shall have a Second! Someone to drink after them to keep things sporting!" The crowd cheered. "Who gets with who?"

"I call Sakura-chan." Naruto spoke.

Sakura held up her fist. "Cha! I've got your back!"

"Gohan!" Videl called out.

"Hold on, Videl." Sharpner laughed. "Gohan is a Saiyan. Let's give the rest a fighting chance."

"And his dad is a lightweight. Whats your point?"

"Pick a fellow human."

"Whatever... Erasa."

"I've got you, girl." Erasa smiled.

"Who do I pick?" Harry asked.

"Me of course." Ron said as he stepped up to the plate. "Like I would let my best mate drink alone."

"You're sure?"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

Harry smiled. "Alright then. Have a seat."

"Alright!" Sharpner spoke up. "You each know the rules! America rules! Each champion starts with a drink." Sharpner then poured each champion a shot of Firewhiskey. "Once you finish you put the glass upside down on the table and your second drinks. First duo to finish their drinks wins the round. We keep going until two parties yield or pass out. Champions ready?"

"Ready!" They all sounded.

"Go!"

As one the three champions all threw back their shot glasses and as one all of them gagged. As a ninja, Naruto had been burned by actual fire more than once, and this firewhiskey was certainly a close second. It seared his throat, reaffirming that wizards didn't know how to make hyperboles. When they say firewhiskey, they mean firewhiskey.

Videl on the other hand, was taking it in stride. Yes, it burned horribly to the point where she started gagging, but her and her schoolmates had experienced far worse. The close calls, the near-death experiences, she could remember back to when that Space Pirate, Bojack came and nearly killed her. If it wasn't for Gohan, she would have died. But this drink right here...this was a burn that could compare to a Ki blast to the face repeatedly. She wasn't going to show weakness here. She had gone through too much to be beaten by a strong alcoholic beverage.

The crowd roared in approval.

"Come on, come on, come on! You gotta put the cup down!" Sharpner cheered.

Videl slammed her glass down and Erasa took a sip of her firewhiskey before sputtering.

"Oh God!" Erasa sputtered.

"Suck it up-" Videl cried before falling into a coughing fit.

Harry meanwhile felt like he had been sucker punched by his cousin Dudley. Yet also strangely felt braver for some reason.

"Naruto, your glass, your glass!" Sakura shouted.

Naruto looked at his glass and quickly turned it over to signal that it was Sakura's turn to drink.

Sakura took her glass and slammed it down and flipped her glass over quicker than anyone else did. She and Naruto were served another round and took their drinks.

"First round goes to the ninjas!" Sharpner shouted.

* * *

Round after round, Naruto and Sakura dominated the game with Ron and Harry coming in second, and Videl and Erasa coming in last place. Mostly due to the fact that Erasa threw up halfway into the 4th round. It was just as well. Sakura was completely sloshed after 19 rounds, even when Ron and Harry tapped out after 9 rounds, Sakura kept going as did Naruto.

Thanks to Naruto's incredible metabolism, he wasn't even buzzed, which pissed off the competitors. Sakura was too drunk to care.

"Damn you... Uzumaki..." Videl cursed as she rested her chin on the table. Across from her, Naruto was seated with another full glass in his hand and a completely sloshed Sakura sitting in his lap. Giggling while her finger traced along his whisker marks.

"Have I ever told you...how cute...your whiskers are...?" Sakura giggled.

"Five times now." Naruto smiled.

"Really...? Have I really...?"

"Since the game began, yeah." Naruto said as he knocked back another shot.

"Oooh..." Sakura said before going into a laughing fit.

Naruto slammed his glass down. "I think we can call this my game." He declared with his arm around Sakura's waist for balance.

Sakura drunkenly shifted herself to where she was straddled over his waist and laid herself on his chest. "Mmmmm...so warm..."

"Mmmm…" Sharpner groaned. "Judges?" He asked.

"Ninjas win." The judges all said.

"How are you...not drunk...?" Videl slurred.

"Ninja's secret." Naruto winked while patting his belly.

Videl just groaned. She skipped drunk and went straight to hangover.

"Anyone know what time it is?" Naruto asked, not seeing Harry or Ron anywhere and assuming that they had gone to bed.

Gohan looked at his watch. "11:59. It's almost midnight."

As one, the whole party seemed to snap awake. "Oh shoot, its nearly time for the countdown!" George said as he slapped Fred awake. Everyone who was standing pushed and shoved to get their friends up on their feet. Naruto especially had trouble getting Sakura to stand without her swaying back and forth against her boyfriend. Hermione used her wand to yank Ron and Harry off the floor. Videl just left Erasa and her lightweight ass to sleep on the floor while finding stability on Gohan's arm. The British wizards then started running around and linking everybody's hands together.

"Come on, come on. When in Rome and all that." George said to Naruto and Sakura before running to help Shikamaru hold up Choji and Ino.

The countdown started with everyone swaying back and forth. Naruto and Sakura remaining arm in arm with the final countdown.

"3…2…1…HAPPY NEW YEAR!" The whole castle screamed in joy. The bells in the clocktower rung loud and deeply. Like their vibrations seemed to echo through the castle walls and penetrate everyone from their feet up to the tips of their noses. Giving Naruto a sense of jubilation he hadn't felt since surviving his first task or when Sakura agreed to date him. He turned to face her and was met with her lips pressed against his. Although neither had planned it, neither one of them wanted to move away either. Dispite how tempting Sakura's breath made it.

"Should ooold acquaintance beeee forgot! Aaand neeever brought to miiiiiind?" Fred and George sang.

"SHOULD AULD ACQUAINTANCE BEEEEE FORGOT, AND AULD LANG SYNEEEEE!" The rest of the party sang, filling the room with a greater warmth than any fire.

Naruto and Sakura found themselves sandwiched between the Kame students Videl and Gohan on the right and Harry and his friends on the left. All swaying and cheering and singing horribly to ring in the new year.

"Whoooo!" Sakura cheered as the singing died down. Kids of every age raised their glasses and party favors in celebration.

"Sounds like bed time for a certain drunk cutie." Naruto said as he gave the drunk Sakura a slap on the bum.

"Nooo...I don't wanna..." Sakura pouted

"Yes, you do. Come on." Naruto laughed as he hoisted her up in a bridal carry.

"I wanna have some fun..." Sakura giggled.

"We can have fun after a good sleep." Naruto said, feeling more confident than he ever had in life, but still had enough sense not to take advantage of his inebriated girlfriend.

"But I wanna do it now..." Sakura whined.

"Wow...I've never seen Sakura so hammered." Ino snickered. "Watch out, Naruto. She's almost like Lee when she gets drunk."

"She hasn't hit me yet. So, she can't be."

"Only when she doesn't get what she wants."

"Well let's hope that she wants a nap."

His answer contradicted him when Sakura pinched his right butt cheek. He looked down at her and she tried to wink. But she was so drunk that she was just making a funny face before laughing.

 _'Oh boy...'_ Naruto thought. "Come on...let's get you back to camp."

"Weeeee!" Sakura giggled as Naruto carried her.

"Thank you all. It's been a great party." Naruto said aloud as he passed by Kiba who was making out with a Gryffindor 7th year girl. Shikamaru was playing wizard chess with Pen from Kame.

Naruto made his way into the hallway outside of the Gryffindor common room, all the while Sakura was having her arms around and giggling like a school girl.

"Shh, Sakura-chan. We gotta be quiet." Naruto hissed.

"Can do!" Sakura laughed.

Naruto grit his teeth as her voice echoed down the huge stairway. "Quieter than that."

"Okay, big dick..." Sakura giggled.

 _ **'The fuck did she just say?'**_ Kurama sputtered.

 _'She is drunk as a skunk.'_ Naruto thought.

 _ **'I see that. No better time to get your rocks off, as that perverted Sannin would say.'**_

 _'Not even Pervy Sage would take advantage of a drunk woman.'_ Naruto thought.

 _ **'That he'll admit to...**_ '

 _'Don't you start too.'_ Naruto thought.

"So many pictures..." Sakura laughed.

"Excuse me, we are portraits." A well-dressed man in a Victorian outfit said.

"Pssh!" Sakura giggled, trying to hold in her laugh.

"Sorry, she's drunk right now. Just trying to get her to bed." Naruto apologized.

"Quite right. A gentleman should never let a lady walk to her room alone at night. Especially an inebriated lady." The portrait said.

Naruto nodded. "Sorry to bother you."

"It's alright. Happy New Year!" Another portrait buzzed in.

"Thanks, you too." Naruto waved.

After a single hairy incident involving a drunk Filch looking for his cat while Mrs. Norris trotted behind him, Naruto managed to sneak both him and Sakura out of the castle and back to their school's temporary ninja house.

"Ugh...Naruto...I'm gonna..." Sakura heaved.

"Oh boy. Come on, we'll find a tree." Naruto said.

Naruto found the nearest tree and set Sakura down where she proceeded to crawl to.

 _ **'You're gonna wanna hold her hair.'**_

 _'What for?'_

 _ **'Like most women, if not all...they don't want puke in their hair.'**_

 _'Oh right. Good thinking.'_ Naruto thought before moving Sakura's hair away from her face just as she started spewing her guts out on the ground.

 _ **'Whatever helps you get laid.'**_

 _'What the Hell? Why would you care about that?'_

 _ **'Don't worry about it, just hold her hair and rub her back.'**_

 _'How do you even know this?'_

 _ **'I've had other Jinchuriki and they drank. Anymore stupid questions?'**_

 _'Fine.'_ Naruto sighed just as Sakura finished throwing up. She was about to fall face first into her vomit but Naruto caught her.

"Let's get you to bed. No buts." Naruto said.

Sakura just groaned. She didn't have the energy to argue.

Naruto picked her up in a bridal carry again and carried her inside the house and straight to her bedroom. But just as he was a few doors away, Tsunade spotted them.

"Naruto?" She asked. "What's wrong with Sakura?"

"Ah...she's drunk." Naruto said nervously.

"Ah. Is that all? Bring her here." Tsunade waved over.

Naruto obliged and Tsunade put her Mystic Palm on Sakura's forehead and began pumping chakra into her brain. After a few moments she was done. "There. She should wake up tomorrow hang over free and begging me to teach her that jutsu."

"I'm gonna beg you to teach me that..." Naruto said in awe.

"Why? You don't get hangovers."

"No, but everyone else does. And if Sakura gets hammered again, I wanna be able to do it for her."

Tsunade smiled. "You'll make a great boyfriend to her, brat. But this level of Medical ninjutsu is not something I can just teach to a novice. Just focus on your own strengths for now."

Naruto nodded. "Thanks, granny."

"Don't mention it. Now get her to bed. And don't try anything funny."

"Like I would." Naruto grumbled as he hoisted Sakura up.

"Right. Well I wouldn't be your headmaster if I didn't say anything, now would I?"

"Yeah, yeah. Happy New Year, Granny."

"Stop calling me that, brat." Tsunade growled.

"Nope." Naruto smirked as he carried Sakura up to her room.

He carefully opened the door and walked in. For a home away from home, Sakura still managed to make her room as tidy and neat as possible.

He gently laid Sakura down on her bed, where he instantly saw her pajamas. If there was one thing he knew, Sakura never went to bed without them on. But he didn't dare change her. They were still a new couple and she would have had his ass on a platter. So instead, he took off her boots so she could at least sleep with them off. He pulled her blankets over her and smiled at his handy work.

"Naruto..." Sakura moaned.

"Good night, Sakura-chan." Naruto smiled before kissing her forehead.

"Mmmm…." Sakura sighed in content.

Naruto paused in her doorway for a moment to see her finally fall asleep, gently snoring logs and sleeping off her inebriation. He walked out and gently closed the door so she wouldn't wake up. Once done, he left and went on his way to his room.

He made his way over to his sleeping bag with a spring in his step. Sakura-chan said that he loved her. He could jump to the moon right now. Everyone else wasn't back yet, not even Sasuke and his cronies. Wherever they had gone. Naruto ignored it and threw his clothes off to sleep in his boxers. He turned off the lights, stepped over his Golden Egg storage scroll, slipped into bed, and could not for the life of him fall asleep.

 _'Sakura-chan said that she loved me.'_ He thought giddily. He needed something to calm him down. Or he wouldn't sleep a wink. _'The egg. That ought to bore me to sleep.'_ He thought as he reached over to grab the scroll. He sat himself up, turned on a nearby reading lamp, and unraveled the scroll.

Naruto automatically pumped some chakra into the scroll to release the seal, but nothing happened. Curious, Naruto double checked the seal to make sure he was holding it right. The seal was in the right position. But the kanji for egg wasn't in the circular seal design. It was blank.

Naruto quickly pumped more chakra into the seal, but only a puff of smoke came out.

His golden egg, the key to the 2nd task, was gone.

* * *

 **Author's Note from Panda: Oh snap. The egg has been taken. Who knows who could have stolen it? This is a Harry Potter story after all. So suspect number 1 is Snape. Personally though, I've got my suspicions about that co-author of mine, Cmartin. *cocks revolver***


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